Ring Of Honor
Date: April 24, 2025
Location: MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re in another weird period as Supercard Of Honor has been moved to the summer, meaning we have a few weeks where very little is going to matter. Maybe it has something to do with nothing being announced for a show which would have been held next week. Either way, we could use some fresh challengers for various titles so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Premiere Athletes/The Righteous vs. Spanish Announce Project/Kingdom

The Athletes take Angelico into the corner for the early beating but it’s quickly off to Serpentico for a knockdown. Serpentico is hiptossed onto Nese for two and it’s Taven coming in for a dropkick. Bennett’s clothesline gets two and Nese bails out to the floor, with the chase resulting in Bennett taking a beating.

Back in and the Righteous takes turns beating on Bennett, with Dutch’s clothesline getting two. The chinlock goes on and Nese comes in for one of his own. Bennett fights out and the big tag brings in Taven to clean house. A superkick into the Lionsault gets two on Daivari and Serpentico comes in off a blind tag. Everything breaks down and the Boss Man Slam into Orange Sunshine finishes Serpentico at 8:13.

Rating: C. This was the latest match involving all of the tag teams around here and there is only so much you can get out of these teams who are not going anywhere anytime soon. That is the problem with the tag division basically being Rhodes and Guevara and one other team at a time, because….oh you know the rest by now. It’s the same problem it’s been for months and it isn’t changing.

Crowbar vs. Lance Archer

Yes the one from WCW and he’s in good shape. Crowbar drops to his back a few times and gets forearmed in the face before the bell. Archer grabs a suplex and Crowbar is sent outside, where he gets in a shot of his own. Back in and Archer knocks him down again, only to miss a charge in the corner. Crowbar drops some legs between the legs for two but Crowbar takes too long going for the crowbar, meaning it’s a chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 4:51.

Rating: C. There is something amazing about seeing someone like Crowbar, who hasn’t been around on the big stage in decades, showing up here for a perfectly fine match. He’s in good shape for someone at his age and he didn’t get entirely destroyed here. Not a great match or anything, but a nice little surprise.

We look at Nick Wayne winning the TV Title last week. On Collision of course.

Red Velvet vs. Ashley Vox

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Vox wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, she gets a future Women’s TV Title shot. Vox’s rather firm handshake is pulled into a clothesline and Velvet starts fast. Velvet knocks her down again and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Vox’s back. Vox fights up but gets hammered in the corner. Another comeback works a bit better as Vox hits a running knee into a spinning clothesline for two. Back up and Velvet knocks her cold with the big left hand for the win at 4:28.

Rating: C-. They didn’t have much time to do much here and Vox is a decent enough independent star but you can only get so much out of a women’s midcard title when it doesn’t need to be there in the first place. The division barely exists as Athena has destroyed everyone so it’s a collection of losers. That doesn’t make for an interesting title picture and it’s only going to get worse with a third title being brought into the division.

Post match La Catalina comes out for a staredown.

Leila Grey, Taya Valkyrie and Deonna Purrazzo are in the Women’s Pure Rules Title. For those not keeping track: the men’s version has only been defended twice this year.

Mark Briscoe/AR Fox/Top Flight vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Briscoe and Taylor slug it out to start until Briscoe’s crossbody is pulled out of the air. Fox and Moriarty come in with Fox taking over, including knocking Bravo down as well. Back in and Bravo tosses Fox into a suplex from Dean and the villains take over. Bravo’s gutbuster gets two and the chinlock goes on.

Fox fights up with a spinning suplex for the break and it’s off to Darius to pick up the pace. House is cleaned, at least until Taylor gets in a big forearm. The splash gets two and Taylor’s chop seems to destroy part of Darius’ soul. Darius manages a running C4 to Dean and it’s off to Dante to clean house. A springboard Swanton gets two on a standing Moriarty as everything breaks down. Fox dives onto Taylor on the floor and the Jay Driller finishes Dean at 8:27.

Rating: C+. At least some of the people involved here feel somewhat important, as that has not exactly been the case for most of this show. Briscoe is always worth a look and the Promotions are more or less the designated punching bags. Not exactly a great main event, but it’s the best thing on the show this week.

Overall Rating: C-. On one hand, this show gets big points for only being about forty five minutes long, but on the other hand, my goodness did it feel like the most nothing show imaginable. None of the four matches on here felt important in the slightest and the only thing we got was a staredown about the….we’ll say second most important women’s title of the three. It certainly wasn’t a terrible show, but I don’t think they could have made it feel less important.

Results
Righteous/Premiere Athletes b. Spanish Announce Project/Kingdom – Orange Sunshine to Serpentico
Lance Archer b. Crowbar – Blackout
Red Velvet b. Ashley Vox – Left hand
Mark Briscoe/AR Fox/Top Flight b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Jay Driller to Dean

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Final Battle 2024
Date: December 20, 2024
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the biggest show of the year and we have a double main event. In this case, the actual main event will be a rematch from last year as Athena defends the Women’s Title against Billie Starkz. The other half of the main event will see Matt Cardona challenging Chris Jericho for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Dark Order vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Evil Uno is here with the Order as Reynolds and Drake start things off. They both try armdrags and dropkicks to no avail so it’s a four way staredown to start. Gibson comes in and yells a lot before being taken into the corner so Silver can kick away at the chest. The Veterans start taking over by Silver’s leg though, with Gibson grabbing a half crab. Drake cranks on the leg as well and kicks him in the knee before they go up top.

Silver managers a super hurricanrana for a breather and it’s Reynolds coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a spear/brainbuster combination drops Drake on the floor. Back in and Gibson charges into a boot in the corner but is fine enough to hold Reynolds up for a Doomsday Device. Uno whips out the papers though and a shot to the head lets the Order hit their sequence for two on Drake. Silver’s knee gives out again though and a high/low finishes Silver at 11:28.

Rating: C+. This was a nice choice for an opener with a feud that saw the villains being mad at the Order and wanting to beat them. That’s all you need for a match like this and the people involved did the rest. I’ll call this one a nice little result, as it didn’t try to do anything elaborate but made it work at a simple level.

Zero Hour: Harley Cameron vs. Hanako

This is Hanako’s debut and she’s Mina Shirakawa’s rather tall stable mate. Hanako shoves her down to start and hits a shoulder to knock Cameron into the ropes. Cameron loses a battle over a suplex and a pair of big boots puts her on the floor. A missed charge lets Cameron send her into the steps though and some kicks to the ribs keep Hanako in trouble.

Back up and Hanako ties her in the Tree of Woe but Cameron gets the knee out. A Shining Wizard gives Cameron two and a rather spinning headscissors takes Hanako down again. Hanako is right back with a backbreaker though and a torture rack spun into a faceplant finishes Cameron at 7:21.

Rating: C. I’m sure this is part of the build towards Wrestle Dynasty and Stardom (Hanako’s home promotion) has to get a win to hype up the show, but egads man. Cameron has gone from just another annoying person on the roster to someone the fans have gotten behind. There was no story to this match and anyone could have put Hanako over here. Why have Cameron, who the fans are getting behind, lose when you have so many other options for the spot? If Hanako just has to beat someone here, don’t have it be someone who is getting themselves over through pure talent and willpower.

Zero Hour: Infantry vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Trish Adora and Shane Taylor are here with the Infantry. The Infantry jump them before the bell and Bravo suplexes Taven to get things going. Taven is back up with a big dive to the floor and they get back inside for a middle rope dropkick to Bravo. Dean sweeps the leg though and hits a Stunner off the apron as Taven is in trouble again. Some corner forearms and a wind up DDT drop Taven for two but he grabs a DDT of his own.

The referee doesn’t see the tag to Bennett though, meaning the beating has to continue. That’s broken up and Bennett comes in, with a Death Valley river sending Bravo onto Dean for two. An assisted swinging slam gets the same on Bennett, who quickly gets back to Taven for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Just The Tip into Bennett’s piledriver gets two. Adora’s cheap shot sets up Boot Camp for two but Taven pulls Bravo to the floor. Rockstar Supernova finishes Dean at 9:49.

Rating: C. Another nice match here with something that would have fit in just fine on the weekly show and probably didn’t need to be added to this crowded card. The Undisputed Kingdom are already involved with the Adam Cole/MJF story so having them win here was the only way to go. The Infantry are the current midcard villains tag team and that isn’t going to be enough to overcome bigger stars like the Kingdom.

Zero Hour: LeeJ vs. Gates Of Agony

Johnson and Kaun start things off and they trade leapfrogs until Johnson hits a dropkick. Nduka adds a swinging side slam but Johnson comes back in and gets crotched on top. Liona comes in to drop an elbow for two but Johnson scores with a pop up dropkick. We get the big Liona vs. Nduka forearm exchange before they trade hard clotheslines.

Nduka gets sent into the corner for running hips/knees to the face but Johnson makes the save. Liona and Nduka both hit Pounces before Liona Samoan drops Nduka. A running knee sends Nduka into the steps, leaving Johnson to neckbreaker Kaun. Johnson’s dive off the apron is cut off and Open The Gates gets….two. Another Open The Gates finishes Johnson at 10:24.

Rating: C+. So LeeJ is built up as an interesting team for a few weeks, all to lose to the Gates Of Agony? That’s certainly a choice, but the team only felt like a way to get Nduka’s feet wet. That being said, it doesn’t seem like Nduka is ready for such a push on his own as he hasn’t done much other than have some squash matches. Weird ending here, but it’s not like it’s going to matter for the title picture anyway.

Post match respect is shown….and then LeeJ turns on them. As usual, a heel turn would have more impact if it didn’t come after a clean loss.

And now, the show proper.

We open with a look at the show’s history in New York City before looking at the show’s double main event.

Atlantis Jr. vs. Mansoor

Mason Madden is here with Mansoor. They touch tips to start and we’re ready to go. As commentary confirms that this is over things that are happening in CMLL, Mansoor takes him down and strikes a pose, setting up some armdrags. Atlantis is back with a snapmare before tying up the legs to take over. A leglock sends Mansoor over to the ropes and we pause for a pose from Madden. Mansoor takes over and hits a Falcon Arrow before going after the mask.

More posing in the corner allows Atlantis to come back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, followed by another to make it worse. Madden offers a distraction though, allowing Mansoor to grab a northern lights superplex. A Death Valley Driver into the corner gives Mansoor two but Atlantis wheelbarrow suplexes him into another corner. Mansoor tries a springboard but gets cuttered out of the air for two. Madden tries to interfere….but Danhausen of all people comes out to cut him off. Mansoor accidentally dives onto Madden and then gets taken out by an Atlantis dive. The frog splash gives Atlantis the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match, but maybe give us a bit more about why these two are fighting? Other than something about “this happened in CMLL”, we had no context for why these two are fighting. Show us what happened or have the talk about something, but give us a bit more than that, especially on a show as big as this one.

Post match Madden jumps Atlantis but gets cursed by Danhausen. A German suplex drops Madden and Danhausen pours teeth into his mouth.

Chris Jericho talks about how New York City is his city and gets a few details wrong. He’s ready to leave the Grand Apple as World Champion.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tommy Billington

This is Billington’s ROH debut and they have no notable history together. They fight over wrist control to start with Billington flipping his way to freedom. Billington reverses a headlock into a headscissors but Shibata starts working on the leg to take over. Back up and Billington sends him to the apron and hits a big running flip dive.

Shibata is right back on the leg and the figure four has Billington in trouble. That’s broken up with a rope break so Shibata grabs an STO. An armbar sends Billington to the ropes but he’s fine enough to elbow Shibata into a suplex. A springboard tornado DDT sends Shibata head first into the apron for a double down on the floor. Back in and Billington strikes away, only to get pulled into a sleeper for the tap at 9:50.

Rating: B-. What is there to say about a match where there is no backstory and one of the people is making his in-ring debut for the promotion? It’s another match that was fine in the ring but there is little reason to get interested in what they’re doing. They’re just having a match and while it was good enough, I’m expecting something a bit more intriguing at the biggest show of the year.

Respect is shown post match.

We recap QT Marshall vs. Jay Lethal. With Lethal returning to Ring Of Honor, Marshall wanted them to join forces. Lethal turned him down and a match was made, with Marshall bringing up a previous injury he had and seemingly blaming Lethal for what happened.

Jay Lethal vs. QT Marshall

….and they’re both in Randy Savage cosplay, which had nothing to do with this story coming in. Aaron Solo and an unidentified woman are with Marshall while Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett (in NWO Elizabeth gear) are with Lethal. We start fast with Lethal hitting the Savage neck snap over the top into a top rope ax handle. The rolling dropkick lets Lethal send Marshall outside, where he gets in a shot of his own.

A kiss to the unknown woman lets Lethal come back with a suicide dive but a Solo distraction cuts Lethal off. Marshall’s tornado DDT gets two but Lethal fights up with some forearms. Marshall can’t hit a Lethal Injection so Lethal gives him a pop up neckbreaker for two. Lethal goes after the leg and grabs the Figure Four so Solo tries to come in, earning himself a Figure Four from Dutt.

The Lethal Combination connects but Solo crotches Lethal on top. Cue Jeff Jarrett to guitar Solo and Hail To The King connects for two. The Lethal Injection is countered into the Cross Rhodes for two but Lethal kicks him in the head. A cutter hits Marshall, who is right back with his own Lethal Injection. Back up and Lethal small packages him for two, followed by a pair of Lethal Injections for the pin at 12:32.

Rating: B-. I have so many questions. This was all over the place but in a rather entertaining way, as they stopped trying to have this be anything but insanity and that worked. I have no idea why Marshall was doing a Savage impression or really why Marshall was on this show in the first place, but it was by far the most entertaining thing on the show so far and I’ll take that at this point.

By the way: we are just shy of two hours into this show and this is the first match that had anything resembling an important story (Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Dark Order and LeeJ vs. Gates Of Agony are not important). In the words of rock legend Lenny Haise, this is an opportune time to pick it up a little.

We recap Leyla Hirsch challenging Red Velvet for the Women’s TV Title. Hirsch is getting the title match based on winning a match in July before she was injured and has won one match since (and lost a four way, also involving Velvet). Again: not much in the way of major builds so far.

Women’s TV Title: Leyla Hirsch vs. Red Velvet

Velvet is defending and is rapped live to the ring. Hirsch grabs a headlock to start but gets rolled up for an early two. Back up and Hirsch works on the arm, which doesn’t last long as Velvet is back with a headlock. Velvet starts in on Hirsch’s previously injured arm and we pause to check on Hirsch. She’s fine enough to be shoved into the corner, followed by a heck of a spear to give Velvet two. Hirsch starts going after Velvet’s arm for a change, setting up a sunset German suplex (that was cool).

A spinning German suplex drops Velvet again, followed by a powerbomb into a top rope Lionsault for two. Velvet is back with a powerbomb of her own and a spinning kick to the head gets a near fall of her own. A right hand staggers Hirsch but she sends Velvet into the buckle for a breather. Velvet’s shot to the face gets two so she grabs a turnbuckle (as in the big metal rod). That’s taken away so she whips out a wrench and knocks Hirsch cold for the pin to retain at 11:52.

Rating: B-. I guess that was supposed to be some big heel turn at the end but it came so out of nowhere that it didn’t have much of an impact. Velvet has gotten better in recent months but there still isn’t much that makes her stand out. Maybe the heel turn will help her, though she’s going to need a bit more to really make it work.

Lee Moriarty has issue an open challenge for a Pure Title match because he wants the best challengers.

Pure Rules Title: Lee Moriarty vs. ???

Moriarty is defending against….Nigel McGuinness. Well that’s a big one. Hold on though as Nigel wants this under Old School Pure Rules. Taylor says OLD is right but McGuinness isn’t impressed and insults are traded. Moriarty wants the match so Nigel says we’ll do it old school. Bobby Cruise lists off the rules…which are the same as the new school rules.

They take their time to start until Nigel goes for a waistlock, which makes Moriarty burn through his first rope break. Back up and Nigel claims a right hand from Moriarty, which counts as his first thrown punch. Taylor wants and gets a second referee out here as Nigel can’t quite get a crossface. The London Dungeon has Moriarty in more trouble but he uses the rope again.

Moriarty pulls him into a stretch of his own, sending Nigel to the ropes. Nigel heads outside to yell at Taylor, who Moriarty accidentally takes out with a running knee. Back in and McGuinness strikes away and the Tower Of London connects for two. The London Dungeon is countered into a Border City Stretch and Nigel has to use his second rope break as well. Another Border City Stretch has Nigel using his final break but he’s back up with the rebound lariat for two.

Nigel catches him on top with another Tower Of London, with Moriarty using his final rope break, meaning neither has any left. They uppercut it out until Moriarty backslides him for two. An exchange of rollups gets two each and Moriarty’s suplex Downward Spiral gets two more. Moriarty gets the Border City Stretch on again and uses the ropes for leverage to make Nigel tap at 17:04.

Rating: B. Having Nigel back was a nice surprise and it gave the fans a reason to believe that the title might change hands. The point of an open challenge like this is to put a big name out there and Nigel certainly fits the bill. That being said, I’m still not sure if we need the Pure Title out there on a regular basis, as it just doesn’t feel like it matters most of the time. For now though, heck of a match with Nigel being able to do this kind of wrestling in his sleep.

Post match respect is shown and Moriarty lets Nigel have the ring.

We recap the Righteous challenging the Sons Of Texas for the Tag Team Titles. This has mainly been about Dustin Rhodes vs. Dutch over a cowbell that Dusty Rhodes once owned because Dusty saw something in Dutch, making it personal.

Tag Team Titles: Sons Of Texas vs. The Righteous

The Righteous are challenging in a double bullrope match, meaning both of them are bound together and you win with a pin or submission. The brawl starts on the floor (and before the tying) with Guevara hitting a big flip dive before the bell. They get inside with Dustin hitting the drop down uppercut and a double suplex dropping Dutch. Now they bother tying up and the bell actually rings. The champs take over to start and hit stereo Shattered Dreams.

That doesn’t seem to have much of an impact as the Righteous fight up and it’s time to head outside. Dustin chairs Dutch in the back before Sammy and Vincent collide for a double knockdown. Dutch comes back with a Boss Man Slam on the ramp and it’s time for a barbed wire table. That takes too long and Dutch is knocked through the table but Vincent kicks Rhodes low. Orange Sunshine off the barricade drops Sammy and Vincent pulls himself out of the rope.

Sammy has to save Dustin from being choked out and they head back outside with Vincent being rocked again. Sammy is unhooked as well and it’s time to set up a regular table and a ladder. The Swanton only hits table though, leaving Dustin to beat up Vincent. Dutch’s shot in the corner gives Vincent two so Dustin flips both of them off. Orange Sunshine gets two with Sammy making the save. Sammy and Vincent crash out to the floor and a Canadian Destroyer drops Dutch. The cowbell to the head pins Dutch to retain the titles at 15:34.

Rating: B. If you ignore the bull ropes being broken up part of the way through the match and the whole thing turning into a pretty run of the mill street fight, it worked well. The cowbell finishing Dutch was the logical ending after the story they have been telling too. That being said, I can’t fathom that the Sons Of Texas are going to make it to the new year with the titles, as I have no idea how they have this much appeal.

TV Title: Komander vs. Willie Mack vs. Mark Davis vs. Blake Christian vs. AR Fox vs. Brian Cage

Cage is defending under elimination rules. Christian bails to the floor to start and pulls Komander with him, leaving Fox to hit a dive. Cage and Davis slug it out with Davis getting the better of things, including a running backsplash. Back in and Mack avoids Davis’ swings, setting up a running boot to the face. Mack is sent outside and Fox hits a bunch of dives for a bunch of knockdowns.

Back in and Komander flips away from Fox before sending him outside for a big springboard corkscrew moonsault. Christian hits Cage with suicide dive and a spear on the apron hits Komander. Christian’s big corkscrew dive takes out a few people but Cage gives him a neckbreaker back inside. A double German suplex sends Fox and Komander flying but Mack is back in to clean house. Mack Samoan drops Komander and Fox at the same time (hip swivel included) and a standing moonsault gets two on Davis. A series of Stunners takes everyone down, only for Cage to hit a discus lariat to pin Mack at 9:32.

Fox comes back in to kick Cage in the face, followed by a running hanging DDT to Davis. Komander’s running dive is cut off with a DDT on the apron, setting up Fox’s imploding springboard flip dive. Back in and Fox’s 450 gets two on Komander but Lo Mein Pain is countered into a super sitout powerbomb so Cage can pin Fox at 13:28.

Cage and Davis slug it out until Komander comes in with a super hurricanrana to Davis. An F5 drops Komander but Davis drops Cage with a clothesline. A piledriver gets rid of Cage at 16:39 to guarantee a new champion. Christian hits Davis low and rolls him up with trunks for the pin, leaving us with Christian vs. Komander for the title. Christian kicks Komander into the corner and a double stomp to the knees keeps him down. Komander is back with something like an abdominal stretch on the back but Christian shoves him out to the floor.

A 450 misses back inside though and Komander knocks him outside again. Komander’s dive is cut off with a Spanish Fly for two but he’s back up with a super poisonrana. The rope walk flip dive takes Christian out on the floor but he kicks the referee into the ropes to break up Cielito Lindo. Christian’s swinging belly to back superplex gets two but it’s a Canadian Destroyer into a 619 into Cielito Lindo to give Komander the pin and the title at 25:20.

Rating: B-. Oh boy where do I start here? First of all, it was a fun, action packed match, but DANG it went on for a long time. This is a match that could have had ten minutes cut off and not lost much but it just kept going with one long sequence after another. It had enough spots to keep me interested, but get on with it already.

Second, there’s the Komander problem. While he has been fairly regularly featured around here and has had some success, you can only get so far with having someone who is little more than cannon fodder in AEW. Komander hasn’t won a match yet in this year’s Continental Classic (and very well may not) but he’s only won two singles matches in AEW this year. That is going to need to change, or the ROH TV Champion is going to lose a lot going forward. That’s not a good way to present any title and it shouldn’t happen.

Finally, there’s the issue of someone like Blake Christian. Now I know who Christian is and several other people will, but he means nothing Ring Of Honor. He has won one singles match in ROH this year and that was in August, which was also his most recent match. Christian hasn’t wrestled in AEW since last spring and has never won a match on AEW TV. I’m aware he’s a big deal in GCW and had a run in Japan, but if I don’t follow those promotions, I have little idea who Christian is because he’s someone who just pops in periodically and loses. Now he’s getting a title shot? Come up with something better than that.

Komander gets a nice reception for his victory.

We get long previews of upcoming AEW shows.

The House Of Torture wants a Tag Team Title match at Wrestle Dynasty.

We recap Matt Cardona challenging Chris Jericho for the ROH World Title. Jericho wants to face a New Yorker so Cardona stepped up. This resulted in Jericho proving that he is a REAL New Yorker, despite knowing very little about New York. That’s your main event, despite Cardona never wrestling in ROH before.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Matt Cardona

Jericho, with Bryan Keith and some knockoff Rockettes, comes out to a Frank Sinatra song and is wearing an I Heart New York shirt. Jericho mocks the crowd to start and gets caught with a quick Radio Silence for two. The Reboot misses in the corner as Jericho bails to the floor, allowing Cardona to hit a big flip dive.

Back in and Cardona whips him with the belt, as I guess rules are lax here. Jericho gets in a backdrop on the ramp and a dropkick knocks Cardona off the apron. This time Jericho follows him out and shoves who appears to be Cardona’s father in the crowd. That earns him a big running forearm but Jericho sends Cardona into the post to cut off the comeback. Back in and Jericho hits a super hurricanrana but misses a charge, allowing Cardona to hit a middle rope dropkick for two.

Cardona misses a regular dropkick and gets Lionsaulted for a near fall. The Walls attempt is countered into a spinebuster and a tiger driver gets two. Jericho hits a Codebreaker for two of his own and they trade big boots for a double knockdown. This time Jericho gets the Walls but Cardona is quickly out. Keith’s interference doesn’t go well as Jericho is sent into him, allowing Cardona to get two off a rollup.

Another Radio Silence is countered into the Walls, with Cardona making the ropes again. Cue the returning Big Bill to kick Cardona in the face for two but he’s back with his own Codebreaker for his own two. Bill offers a distraction though and Keith comes in with a belt shot so Jericho can retain at 18:26.

Rating: B-. Again, another long match on a very long show and it wasn’t getting up the level to make it need that much time. It was a bunch of Jericho cutting Cardona off and then Cardona falling victim to the numbers game. That doesn’t make for an interesting match, but rather a 2003 HHH formula which wasn’t good back then either. This was the biggest match coming in and it just barely worked here.

Post match the beatdown is on but Bandido returns for the save. Ignore him slamming his head on the mat when he comes in with a dropkick and clearly being knocked for a loop.

We recap Athena defending the Women’s Title against Billie Starkz. Last year, Athena treated her badly and then beat her in the main event. Since then, she’s still treated Starkz badly and now Starkz asked for a rematch. That’s how the main event of the biggest show of the year was set up.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

Athena (in a Two Face theme) is defending and gets a special introduction from Lexi Nair. They shake hands to start and take turns trading shots in the corner. Starkz hits a big boot but gets kicked out of the air to slow that down again. The cravate brings Starkz back up but her spinning kick to the face is countered into a Brock Lock. Starks gets out but is powerbombed right back down so Athena can go after the leg.

Said leg gets tied up in the ropes for some hard kicks and Starkz falls outside, where Athena yells at what seems to be Starkz’s mom (eh Jericho did it better). Starkz gets in a shot for a breather but Athena fights out of an electric chair. The leg is almost wrapped around the post but Starkz pulls her face first instead. Back in and something close to Cross Rhodes gives Starkz two and we hit the chinlock.

Something like a brainbuster gives Starkz two but Athena is back with a shot to the leg. A springboard spinning crossbody gets two on Starkz but the O Face is countered into a German suplex. They fight over a Tombstone until Starkz connects for two, giving us a shocked kickout face. Athena’s powerbomb onto the apron is countered into an Alabama Slam, allowing Starkz to hit a Swanton to the floor.

Back in and Athena throws her out to the floor again, meaning it’s a suicide dive onto Starkz and the referee. Lexi Nair uses the opening to hand Athena a microphone but Starkz kicks it out of her hand. Something like a One Winged Angel gets two but Athena manages to pull a turnbuckle pad off. Starkz goes head first into the steel and the O Face retains the title at 25:31.

Rating: B. They were in a weird place here as Starkz’s challenge was as pathetic as you could get and it would have been pretty lame to see her knock off Athena a year after she should have. At the same time, the Fabulous Moolah would think this Athena reign has gone on lone enough.

There is no one in AEW worth anything that she hasn’t beaten yet, to the point where this is the same match from last year’s Final Battle main event. I’m not sure what this is supposed to accomplish anymore and while Athena is still great, she has LONG moved passed the time where she should be on the main roster. It was a long, back and forth match, but the leg stuff just stopped mattering and it could have been about ten minutes shorter, especially as it was almost midnight by the time the match ended.

Athena and Nair celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling itself was fine to rather good with nothing close to a truly bad match. That’s all well and good and there isn’t much to criticize from the in-ring side of things. That being said, OH MY GOODNESS STOP WITH THESE ALMOST FIVE HOUR SHOWS! I wasn’t enjoying the last hour plus of the show because I was just so sick of the whole thing because it kept going.

There is no need to have a good chunk of this show (multiple matches with no backstory or people making their debuts), plus the last three matches adding up to over an hour bell to bell. There comes a point where the show needs to end and Tony Khan has never quite figured that out. It was far from a bad show, but you shouldn’t be able to cut off nearly two hours from a show without missing much. Just stop putting so much on these shows already, because it is really bringing things down.

Results
Grizzled Young Veterans b. Dark Order – High/Low to Silver
Hanako b. Harley Cameron – Torture rack faceplant
Undisputed Kingdom b. Infantry – Rockstar Supernova to Dean
Gates Of Agony b. LeeJ – Open The Gates to Johnson
Atlantis Jr. b. Mansoor – Frog splash
Katsuyori Shibata b. Tommy Billington – Sleeper
Jay Lethal b. QT Marshall – Lethal Injection
Red Velvet b. Leyla Hirsch – Wrench to the face
Lee Moriarty b. Nigel McGuinness – Border City Stretch with ropes
Sons Of Texas b. The Righteous – Cowbell to Dutch’s head
Komander won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating Blake Christian
Chris Jericho b. Matt Cardona – Belt shot from Bryan Keith
Athena b. Billie Starkz – O Face

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 21, 2023
Location: Curtis Cullwell Center, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Final Battle and that means it’s time to start the build towards I’d assume Supercard Of Honor over Wrestlemania Weekend. Granted that means we have a few months before that comes into play, so odds are we’ll be looking at some run of the mill shows for a long time. Let’s get to it.

Here is Final Battle if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Athena retaining the Women’s Title over Billie Starkz in the Final Battle main event.

Athena is with Lexi Nair, who took a long time to bring her title in at Final Battle. Tonight, Athena is taking out some frustrations.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down some of the card.

Workhorsemen vs. Von Erichs

Kevin Von Erich is here with the Von Erichs. Before the match, the Workhorsemen promise to prove that they’re great while the former World Class stars were trash. Drake shoulders Ross down to start but Ross is up with a dropkick. Henry comes in and gets armdragged, setting up Marshall’s dropkick to keep him in trouble.

Since that worked so well, a double dropkick drops Henry again but Drake gets in a cheap shot to put Ross down. Drake comes back in and mocks the Claw, only to miss a middle rope headbutt. It’s back to Marshall to clean house but Henry breaks up the Claw. The Cannonball crushes Marshall but Drake misses a moonsault, allowing Marshall to hit one of his own for the pin at 6:15.

Rating: C+. Having the Von Erichs wrestle around Dallas last week at Final Battle was the biggest layup imaginable, as it made all the sense in the world. Then they’ve done it twice more in the last week and it just kind of shows that the team isn’t very good. They’re not terrible, but they’re the definition of a generic team who rely on one thing to get their reactions. Do this once or twice and it can work, but the third time was going too far with it and my first reaction was “oh, these guys again, how interesting”. Granted the same thing could be said about the Workhorsemen.

Post match Henry goes after Kevin and gets the Claw. Where have I seen this before?

We look at Kyle Fletcher winning Survival Of The Fittest to become the new TV Champion.

Athena vs. Mona World

Proving Ground, meaning non-title but if World lasts the ten minutes or wins, she gets a future title shot. World elbows her down to start and rolls over Athena, who catches her with a quick powerbomb. Athena sends her hard into the corner and hits a knee to the chest for two. World is back up with a Sling Blade and a hurricanrana, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two more. The split legged moonsault misses though and the O Face finishes for Athena at 5:17.

Rating: C. Of all the Proving Ground matches where the champ never feels like they’re in any real danger and then wins in the end without the match coming close to the time limit, this was the most recent. What is anyone supposed to get out of these things? The champ has never lost and it’s very rare to see anyone get close to an upset. Do something with the concept already because otherwise, what’s the point of the gimmick?

Post match Athena shows respect and then attacks World.

Here is Tony Khan for an announcement: the Women’s TV Title. Details to come, including how they crown a Seth Rollins to Athena’s Roman Reigns.

Lee Johnson vs. Dante Martin

Johnson wrestles him to the mat to start but has to flip out of a wristlock. Some armdrags into an armbar have Martin down but he does the same thing to Johnson for some gamesmanship. Martin’s snap suplex gets two and we’re off to the hammerlock. Johnson is back up with a suplex of his own.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Johnson sends him out outside in a heap. After the big dive, Johnson counters a springboard into a quick powerbomb for two more. A Death Valley Driver and standing moonsault give Martin two but Martin’s spinning full nelson slam is good for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. That was a Ring Of Honor match all right, as you have two young stars having a match without much in the way of stakes. I’m sure the answer will be a possible TV Title shot, but forgive me given the history of title matches around here. Other than that, it’s great to see Martin back in the ring and it’s smart to have him use something other than the double springboard moonsault.

Ethan Page, with Scorpio Sky, is happy with his win and can feel the fear from everyone in the locker room. Sky has seen Page lose more than once but now he’s here to make Page fulfill his promises to be a champion.

Blake Christian/Willie Mack vs. Gates Of Agony

Christian dropkicks Kaun down to start but makes the mistake of following him outside. That means a ram into the announcers’ table, followed by a whip into the barricade. Back in and Christian slips away so Mack can come in and clean house. The swinging slam gets two on Kaun but he’s back up to dropkick a charging Mack. Christian comes back in to send Kaun outside, setting up the dive to drop him again. Back in and Toa pulls Christian out of the air for a swinging release Rock Bottom. Toa Pounces Mack and the double lifting slam finishes Christian at 6:45.

Rating: C. Again I ask why the Mogul Embassy have the Six Man Tag Team Titles when the Gates wrestle as a two man team so often. Other than that, this was another one off match against a makeshift team. The Gates continue to be the resident power team who aren’t going anywhere, which continues to be a waste of what they could do.

Tony Nese rants about what it took to make him say I Quit. Mark Sterling wants to start stacking the deck against Ring Of Honor.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson

Vincent takes over on Bronson to start and chokes him on the ropes. Dutch comes in to send Bronson into the corner before it’s off to Archer for a Pounce. Bronson fights out of the corner and brings in Boulder to clean house, only to have Dutch catch him with a swinging Boss Man Slam. The Black Out into Autumn Sunshine finishes Jameson at 4:55.

Rating: C. As has been the case through a good chunk of this show, this was the same thing we’ve seen before. It’s a group getting a win over a lower level group with little drama and little more than a squash to get there. I have no idea why we need to see some of these guys almost every week but at least their boxes are checked off again.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett credits her music for last week’s win. This week, Griff Garrison and Cole Karter are ready to team in an eight man tag….with the Spanish Announce Project. Maria assures her guys that it’s fine.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Vertvixen

Johnny TV is here with Taya, who gets knocked to the floor to start. Taya drops her face first onto the apron and choking ensues back inside. Running knees in the corner give Taya two and we hit some posing. An STF sends Vertvixen over to the ropes and she hits a springboard kick to the face to cut Taya down. Taya isn’t having that and hits a curb stomp for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: C. I’m running out of ways to say “we’ve seen this kind of thing already” but here we are again and again. At least Taya is relatively new, but we’ve now seen her have three such matches in eight days. You can stretch some of these things out occasionally instead of just repeating stuff but that’s not the Ring Of Honor way.

Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor are motivated by their losses and EVERYONE IS ON NOTICE.

Charlette Renegade vs. Rachael Ellering

Robyn Renegade is here with Charlette while Ellering has Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Leyla Hirsch. Ellering takes her to the mat to start but can’t tie up the limbs. Charlette fights up and they fight to the floor, where a cheap shot puts Ellering in trouble. Back in and Charlette stomps away, setting up a Muta Lock to keep up the pain. Ellering fights up and hits a Sling Blade into a backsplash, followed by a fall away slam for two. Hirsch and Robyn get into it on the floor….and Maria grabs Ellering’s leg. Then Ellering hits the Boss Woman Slam for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: C. Hey look: they’re still making Maria, one of the better managers they have available, do the same stuff that hasn’t been interesting for months. I’m sure this will lead to some big turning point in the story which will in no way be reversed a few weeks later. Other than that, a decent power match here, but the story has been moving in slow motion for months now and this didn’t help things.

Taya Valkyrie is happy with her win and Johnny TV calls Dalton Castle a pigeon instead of a peacock.

We look at Johnny TV costing Dalton Castle his chance at the TV Title at Final Battle.

Castle is crushed at his loss and blames Johnny TV. Vengeance is sworn as this is one of the few moving stories around here right now.

Outrunners vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Infantry

Bravo, Andretti and Magnum start things off with a bit of posing. Some rapid tags give us Floyd vs. Andretti as apparently we’re going one on one here. Everything breaks down and the Outrunners are taken down, with Floyd being sent into Magnum in the corner. Dean misses a top rope splash though and the Outrunners get to stomp away.

A double slam gets two on Dean but Floyd gets crotched on top. That’s enough for Bravo to come in and clean house as everything breaks down. Boot Camp is broken up and Floyd gives Bravo a side slam. Floyd kicks Magnum low by mistake though, allowing Andretti to hit a running shooting star press for the pin at 8:22.

Rating: C+. As has been the case or weeks, this was a multi team match with one team managing to scramble and get a pin. As has been the case for nearly four months now, the Tag Team Titles are nowhere in sight, meaning these wins don’t really mean much. They can keep dangling the carrot of a Tag Team Title shot in front of all of these teams but it doesn’t matter if that carrot never actually comes to pass.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is excited about the Women’s TV Title but Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering come in to yell at her about what happened. Hirsch doesn’t want any part of this so Maria tells her to see how it goes without her help. Ellering and Hirsch both want the new title.

Spanish Announce Project/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity

Gravity and Serpentico start things off with Gravity working on the arm. The Boys come in for a double arm takedown but it’s of to Garrison to take over on Brent’s arm. Garrison gets slammed down though and the diving tag brings in Castle to clean house. A Serpentico cheap shot takes Castle down by the leg and the triple teaming is on. Castle is back up with a broken up Bang A Rang attempt, leaving Gravity and the Boys to hit stereo dives. The Bang A Rang finishes Garrison at 7:02.

Rating: C+. Another fun match as the show is at least picking up a bit near the end. Castle gets a win back after his loss at Final Battle, with the Johnny TV showdown on the way. Other than that, Garrison and Karter continue their up and down run as I continue to try to find out why they’re supposed to be interesting in the slightest.

Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco vs. El Hijo de Vikingo/Komander

Loco and Vikingo start things off with Vikingo flipping to his feet off a headscissors. The standoff means it’s of to Komander vs. Cartwheel, with neither being able to get anywhere. Komander sends Cartwheel to the floor but it’s too early for the dive. Instead they kick each other in the face for a double knockdown, meaning the others can come over. Back in and Cartwheel hits a slingshot splash for two, followed by a sliding dropkick into a reverse sitout powerbomb.

Cartwheel’s standing moonsault gets two but Komander is over for the tag off to Vikingo. Everything breaks down down and Vikingo hits the dive to the floor, only to miss a frog splash back inside. Vikingo is right back with a top rope legdrop to knock Cartwheel out of the ropes. Loco is back in with a torture rack faceplant to Vikingo but Komander is back in with a super poisonrana. Cielito Lindo finishes Loco at 9:22.

Rating: B-. They did save the best for last as this was another popcorn match with everyone going 80 miles per hour. Nothing else on the show was going to follow this and it gave the fans a big boost to wrap things up. Vikingo continues to be incredibly entertaining and Komander is good for some big spots while Loco and Cartwheel were fine opponents. Not a memorable match, but nice after the rather dull card leading up to it.

Overall Rating: C-. You might have heard me say this but it was the same stuff we always get. If not for the recaps, there would be no reason to believe that this was the follow up to the biggest show of the year. It was the same bunch of wrestlers trading opponents with most of the matches going longer than they needed to. The problem with this Ring Of Honor is still the same thing that it has been for the better part of ever: there is zero reason for the show to be this long with this many people included.

There were multiple matches that could have been dropped without any significant value being lost. These wrestlers’ careers are not going to fall apart if they’re not here eight out of nine weeks and just having them around again and again doesn’t make them more interesting. This was a very Ring Of Honor show and I mean that about as negatively as I can.

Results
Von Erichs b. Workhorsemen – Moonsault to Drake
Athena b. Mona World – O Face
Dante Martin b. Lee Johnson – Spinning full nelson slam
Lance Archer/Righteous b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Autumn Sunshine to Jameson
Taya Valkyrie b. Vertvixen – Curb stomp
Rachael Ellering b. Charlette Renegade – Boss Woman Slam
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Outrunners and Infantry – Running shooting star press to Floyd
Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity b. Spanish Announce Team/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter – Bang A Rang to Garrison
Komander/El Hijo de Vikingo b. Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco – Cielito Lindo to Loco

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Collision
Date: November 11, 2023
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re taped for a rare situation this week with only seven days to go before Full Gear. In theory that should mean we get a few things built up towards the pay per view, which could make things interesting. You never know what you’re going to get around here but an in-ring focus tends to be the case. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Sting, Darby Allin, Adam Copeland, the Righteous, Lance Archer, Jake Roberts, La Faccion Ingobernable, Powerhouse Hobbs, Daniel Garcia and Andrade El Idolo are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Daniel Garcia

CJ Perry is here with Andrade. Feeling out process to start with Andrade getting the better of things. Garcia sends him into the ropes for the Tranquilo pose, meaning it’s time for the slugout. The frustrated Garcia is sat on top for a dropkick out to the floor as things get worse. Back in and Andrade strikes away until Garcia gets in a knee snap over the ropes.

Garcia knees him off the apron and out to the floor but it’s time to stare at Perry. That means some dancing from Garcia, though Perry actually dances back a bit. Garcia takes it back inside for a German suplex and we take a break. Back with Garcia putting on the ankle lock and Andrade pounding the mat.

With that broken up, Andrade hits some running clotheslines and nips up. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two, followed by Garcia hitting a brainbuster for the same. Andrade runs him over again and hits the double moonsault for two more. Another shot to the knee sets up the Figure Eight to give Andrade the win at 15:41.

Rating: C+. This was longer than it needed to be and there was only so much that you can get out of these two going for almost sixteen minutes. It was a good enough match, but it was feeling long and came off more like they were trying to fill in time. Andrade winning does at least boost him up though and now we should be in for a big Miro vs. Andrade match in the near future.

In the back, Miro is not pleased.

We look at the end of Dynamite, with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn being taken out by masked men. MJF was upset but Samoa Joe seemed amused.

Nick Wayne vs. Dalton Castle

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus are here with Wayne while the Boys are here with Castle. Feeling out process to start with Wayne taking over and stopping for a pose. Castle wrestles him down without much trouble and grabs a gutwrench to send Wayne flying. Wayne gets in a shot of his own to set up more posing though and we hit the face ripping.

That’s broken up and Castle snaps off some suplexes but the Bang A Rang is blocked. Wayne’s World is blocked as well so Luchasaurus gets on the apron. The Boys make the save and get double chokeslammed, allowing Wayne to send Castle into the corner. Wayne’s World finishes Castle at 6:47.

Rating: C+. And there’s your next challenger to the Ring Of Honor World Title, as he loses to Christian Cage’s lackey two days after issuing the challenge. AEW has that big of a roster but apparently here was no one else to take this loss than Castle. Other than that, it was nice to see Castle on television again, as that star power and charisma are always worth a look.

Hangman Page is livid at Swerve Strickland for invading his home, so it’s time for a Texas Death Match at Full Gear. He’s ready to kill Strickland and then take his son to his grave every year for a visit. Heck of a promo from Page here, as he continues to do well when he’s serious.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Workhorsemen

Dralistico gets taken into the wrong corner to start and the alternating beatdown is on. A quick shot allows the tag to Rush though and Drake is quickly struck down. The fight heads outside and we take a break. Back with Rush slapping Drake in the face and posing before forearming Henry down. Back up and Drake runs Rush over, setting up a missed moonsault. Dralistico hits a top rope Codebreaker, setting up a running flip dive to Henry. The Bull’s Horns finishes Drake at 8:25.

Rating: C. This was another match that felt a bit longer than it needed to be, though at least La Faccion never really felt like they were in any serious trouble. The Workhorsemen have been around Ring Of Honor for a long time without much success and now they seem to be moving into the same jobbers to the stars roles around here. There are worse spots for them, but they’re not exactly must see TV.

Post match the House Of Black pops up to say they’re coming for the Tag Team Titles at Full Gear. As for Julia Hart, she’ll beat Willow Nightingale tonight and then gets a rematch for the TBS Title at Full Gear.

Kris Statlander thinks Willow Nightingale should get a title shot and has no comment on Red Velvet vs. Skye Blue next week. Apparently the winners of Hart vs. Nightingale and Velvet vs. Blue get into a triple threat title match at Full Gear. Velvet has wrestled twice since returning and is 1-1 but is a win away from a title shot?

Roderick Strong vs. Darius Martin

Strong, with the Kingdom, is wheeled to the ring. They start fast with Strong hammering away in the corner before hitting a half nelson backbreaker. One heck of a chop in the corner lets Strong drop him in the corner again. A dropkick cuts off Martin’s comeback and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. With that broken up, Martin flips out of the corner for a kick to the head, followed by a bulldog onto the middle rope. Back in and Strong hits the Sick Kick, setting up the End of Heartache for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. Strong’s story continues, though I’m not sure where it is supposed to go. The ans are getting behind Strong and that might create some issues for everyone involved. For now though, at least Strong is getting back in the ring so there are some more options available. Maybe just tone down the comedy stuff if Strong is supposed to stay a heel?

Post match the beatdown is on until Action Andretti makes the save.

Tony Khan is with Bryan Danielson and announces that Danielson will be at next year’s All In. Also, we’ll be getting the Continental Classic, a 12 man round robin tournament over the next month and a half, with the finals taking place at World’s End. The first entrant: Bryan Danielson. Round robins haven’t gone so well in America and a month and a half is a lot, but the talent should be there.

Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart

They start slowly with Hart not knowing what to do with Willow’s power. Hart slugs away but gets slammed down without much trouble. With that not working, they head outside where Willow hits a suplex to plant Hart as we take a break. Back with Hart working on the arm, meaning Nightingale can’t pick her up for the gutwrench powerbomb. Hart hits some running shots in the corner and a running forearm to the back of the head.

Hartless is blocked so they head outside where Nightingale misses a charge into the steps. Back in and Willow pulls her off the top for a full nelson slam and another near fall. The Babe With The Powerbomb….doesn’t quite work as Hart lands sitting down. Another running forearm drops Willow and the moonsault gives Hart the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. And so, Nightingale loses again, as tends to be her custom. That being said, Hart seems all but destined to win the title at Full Gear, as Kris Statlander hasn’t had much of note or a bit now. Hart’s moonsault still looks great too as she has come a long way in a short amount of time. Just give her the title while not having Nightingale lose as much and they’ll get somewhere.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks won’t fight the House Of Black at Full Gear. That’s true, because they’ll be fighting the House of Black, La Faccion Ingobernable and FTR. Starks isn’t worried.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. ???

Paul Wight is on commentary. Spinebuster and World’s Strongest Slam finish for Hobbs at 53 seconds.

Post match, Don Callis mocks Chris Jericho and calls Wight Jericho’s last friend in wrestling. Callis praises Wight but says he’s scared of Hobbs. The fight is teased but nothing happens.

FTR wants the Tag Team Titles back.

Lance Archer/The Righteous vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland

Copeland strikes away at Dutch to start and finally clotheslines him down. Allin (with a taped up shoulder) comes in to headlock Vincent before it’s off to Archer vs. Sting. After a WOO off, Sting knocks him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sting in trouble as Archer gets to stomp him down in the corner. Sting fights away and, after a clothesline to Archer, brings Allin back in.

What looks to be the Code Red is blocked and Dutch hits a running clothesline as we take another break. Back again with Allin fighting out of trouble and bringing Copeland back in to clean house. Allin dives onto Archer on the floor but Dutch takes Copeland down. Sting makes the save and it’s a Death Drop/middle rope elbow combination to drop Dutch. The spear finishes Dutch at 16:21.

Rating: B-. Copeland was looking like a star in here and was moving better than he did during some of his time in WWE. At the same time, Sting continues to look good on the way towards retirement and if he can keep it going for a few more months, we should be in for a nice run. I could have gone with the Righteous not losing so soon into their teaming up with Roberts, but at least it was to a team with much higher star power.

Christian Cage and company come out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. While it wasn’t a bad show, I couldn’t get into things this week. It felt like there wasn’t a ton of effort put into this show and very little involving the top stories took place. I can go with a show focused more on the midcard feuds, but nothing n here really stood out for the most part. It’s far from terrible, but I was bored more than once and that makes for a long show.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Daniel Garcia – Figure 8
Nick Wayne b. Dalton Castle – Wayne’s World
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Workhorsemen – Bull’s Horns to Drake
Roderick Strong b. Darius Martin – End Of Heartache
Julia Hart b. Willow Nightingale – Moonsault
Powerhouse Hobbs b. ??? – World’s Strongest Slam
Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland b. Righteous/Lance Archer – Spear to Dutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date; November 2, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Unvasvillee, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’ve had another Ring Of Honor title change on AEW TV and this time around it might actually matter. We might be seeing the new Six Man Tag Team Champions around here for once, though that will not be happening until next week at the earliest. Other than that, we have less than two months to go before Final Battle and that means it should be time to start getting things ready. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Stokely Hathaway announced that Eddie Kingston is suspended for attacking him. If he tries to touch Hathaway again, he’ll be fired. First: Kingston has wrestled two matches in Ring Of Honor since March so that’s not exactly a huge loss. Two: As long as Kingston has been away, Jerry Lynn has been away even longer and hasn’t been mentioned in the better part of ever.

Here’s a quick preview of what is coming.

Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. The Righteous

Daniels and Dutch start things off with Dutch taking him into the corner for an overly clean break. As Ian gets in the required “the winners of this might be in line for a title shot”, Daniels sends him into the ropes for a running hip attack and it’s off to Vincent vs. Sydal. Vincent is quickly taken down and Daniels adds a running clothesline to the back of the head for two.

Something like a slingshot Meteora gives Sydal two but Vincent sends him into the corner. Dutch gets in a cheap shot from the apron and the villains take over. Vincent’s basement Downward Spiral gets two but Sydal avoids a charge. That’s enough to get over to Daniels for the tag into the house cleaning, with a Death Valley Driver getting two on Vincent. Everything breaks down and Sydal is sent outside, leaving Daniels to get caught with Autumn Sunshine for the pin at 7:24.

Rating: C+. Daniels and Sydal are not the most successful team these days but they are always good for putting someone over in a good match. The Righteous continue to be the resident creepy guys but they aren’t exactly going anywhere at the moment. Granted it might help if they had champions around for them to go after but that isn’t likely to be the case for a good while.

Ethan Page is ready for Josh Woods tonight but he also wants to get his hands on Tony Nese again. The old Ethan Page would get more violent but he’s trying to be a different version. He wants Nese to be watching tonight though because he’ll be thinking of hurting him very badly.

Robyn Renegade vs. Leyla Hirsch

Charlette Renegade is here with Robyn. Hirsch takes her down without much effort to start but Robyn hits some chops in the corner. That’s reversed for some rather hard forearms to the face but Robyn gets two off a faceplant. A rolling German suplex sets up Hirsch’s armbar for the tap out of nowhere at 1:43.

Post match Charlette comes in to jump Leyla but Rachael Ellering makes the save.

Lee Moriarty vs. Darius Martin

No Shane Taylor here after he helped Moriarty beat Martin last week. Moriarty works on a headlock to start but Martin takes him down for an early two. An elbow to the face lets Moriarty send him to the apron and a kick to the ribs makes it worse. Back in and Moriarty starts working on the arm before switching to an abdominal stretch.

Another arm snap seems to wake Martin up and he hits a bulldog into a kick to the head. Martin gets caught up top but misses something, setting up an arm trap neckbreaker for two. The Border City Stretch is countered into some rollups to give Martin two. A release German suplex followed by a frog splash gives Martin the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C+. This is what Ring Of Honor has been needing to do more often: have a match that ties into what they did last week. Moriarty vs. Martin isn’t exactly a red hot feud but they’ve got a little story going, which is a lot better than just random matches that lead nowhere. I’ll take what I can get from these two and they had another perfectly fine match here.

Final Battle ad. They’re hammering home the idea that the show is available for free with an Honor Club subscription which is a very good idea.

Josh Woods vs. Ethan Page

Mark Sterling is here with Woods. They fight over wrist control to start and can be heard conversing in the process. Page armdrags him into an armbar but Woods is right back by sending the arm into the corner. A hammerlock slam gives Woods two but Page gets in a shot for a breather. Cue Tony Nese to watch as Page hammers away and hits a big boot. The Ego’s Edge is blocked though and Woods snaps the arm over the rope to cut Page off. Page is right back with another shot but this time it’s a Sterling distraction to break up Ego’s Edge. Page grabs a small package but Nese turns it over so Woods gets the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go very far but it keeps the Page vs. Sterling N Pals feud going. That being said, Page felt like he was on a roll and now he’s fighting Nese and company, which doesn’t feel like that interesting. Nese hasn’t been presented as anything all that impressive (despite being on the show so frequently) and I’ve lost a good bit of interest in Page since this feud began. Hopefully things turn around, but at least there is a story here and that is a lot better than nothing.

We look at the Mogul Embassy winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles on Dynamite.

Slim J vs. Gringo Loco vs. Angelico vs. Metalik

So Slim J and Loco were in a four way last week while Angelico and Metalik had a singles match so this is kind of a merger of two matches. The fans are behind Loco to start and it’s a brawl early on with J and Loco clearing out the other two. Loco sends J outside though and there’s the big running flip dive. Metalik dives onto the pile but Angelico breaks up a springboard.

Back in and Angelico suplexes J for two before cranking on J’s arm. Angelico grabs a nasty looking bridging leglock on J but Metalik makes the save and hits a reverse Sling Blade for two. Loco comes back in and gets caught with Metalik’s rope walk hurricanrana for two more. A series of covers and saves leaves everyone down until J hits Loco with Zack Ryder’s old Zack Attack for another near fall. Everyone gets another two until Angelico and J are the only two left. Angelico rolls J out of the corner and gets a wacky crucifix variation for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t as fun as last week’s insane four way but dang it was entertaining while it lasted. Angelico gets to showcase a bit of his submission prowess, but that might have been better suited in another singles match as he’s getting ready for his World Title shot. Other than that, very fast paced match here and that’s a good thing to put onto a show, especially with this kind of talent.

Sonjay Dutt has known Jay Lethal and Eddie Kingston for a long time and knows the talent Lethal has always had. Kingston on the other hand is a garbage wrestler and here is Stokely Hathaway to say he wants to be there with Lethal beats Kingston. Hathaway will look into when the title match takes place. He’ll email Dutt so look for the Angelfire address.

Rachael Ellering vs. LMK

LMK is Little Mean Kathleen, a popular local star. They fight over wrist control to start until LMK’s running shoulder has no effect. Ellering’s shoulder works just fine, though the fans are not pleased. A gutwrench suplex (LMK screams) gets two but LMK manages a headscissors into the corner. LMK misses a Cannonball though and it’s an uppercut into the Boss Woman Slam to give Ellering the pin at 2:41. LMK certainly had some fire in there.

Wingmen vs. Gates Of Agony vs. Infantry vs. Iron Savages

The Wingmen come out first and keep trying to talk but the other entrances cut them off in a funny bit. We get a nice save from commentary as we’re told the Six Man Tag Team Titles are off being cleaned and polished (as this was taped before the title change). Boulder runs Avalon over to start but misses an elbow, allowing Avalon to get three straight near falls. It’s off to Dean vs. Kaun with the former charging into an elbow in the corner.

Toa sends Dean outside though and it’s back to Avalon as these tags are rather rapid fire. Nemeth’s pendulum DDT gets two on Dean but a clothesline gets him out of trouble. The tag brings in Bravo to clean house as the Gates drop to the floor to avoid tagging Avalon. Bravo hits a wind up DDT on Avalon but the Gates are back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and there’s Boot Camp to Nemeth. The Savages come back in and wreck the Infantry but the Gates tag themselves in and Open The Gates finishes Avalon at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the four way from earlier as it was pretty much all action throughout. That’s a lot of fun and the Gates continue their roll, though I do wonder if the Six Man Title win will dethrone the whole thing. Otherwise it would seem to be building to the Gates winning the regular Tag Team Titles, which would at least be an improvement for the division. Either way, fun match here, as ROH seems to want to get as many people on these shows as possible.

We look at Mark Briscoe returning at Rampage.

Nick Comoroto vs. Lee Johnson vs. Action Andretti

Johnson and Andretti go after Comoroto to start and a low bridge sends Comoroto to the floor. The other two trade rollups for two each until Comoroto is back in for the save. Comoroto hits a DDT to Andretti and a one armed gorilla press to Johnson at the same time for an impressive crash. A missed charge doesn’t slow Comoroto down as he suplexes both of them at once. Comoroto gets knocked down though, leaving the other two to slug it out. That’s broken up by a double crossbody but Johnson is back up with a middle rope forearm. Andretti makes the save with a springboard missile dropkick though and pins Comoroto at 5:00.

Rating: C+. That’s quite the choice as Comoroto was looking like a monster throughout this whole thing. I’d assume this was to get Andretti back on the winning ways after his loss to Miro but if you’re going to have Comoroto look that dominant, just let Johnson take the fall. Another action packed match, but the lack of time hurt it.

Charlette Renegade vs. Kiera Hogan

Robyn Renegade is here with her sister. Charlette works on a headlock to start and then runs Hogan over. A flapjack gives Charlette two and we hit the camel, uh, face pull. Hogan is back up with a hip attack and a running dropkick in the corner for two of her own. Charlette gets a rollup with feet on the ropes for two but Hogan grabs Face The Music for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C. Another short match here as Hogan gets a win despite not doing much lately. The Renegades have not been doing so well lately and they could use a win or two to give them a bit more value. For now though, there wasn’t much to this one but Hogan has improved a bit in recent months.

Rachael Ellering checks on Leyla Hirsch, who doesn’t want to see her. Ellering says no one else was there to help her but Hirsch seems to insist that Maria Kanellis-Bennett has her back. Hirsch says Ellering was wrong and leaves.

Workhorsemen/Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity

Well this is something and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the villains. Gravity (in a peacock mask) avoids Henry’s charge to start and gets two off a slingshot rollup. Karter comes in and gets elbowed down by Brent, who is powered straight into the corner. A dropkick hits Brent and it’s off to Drake to hit some hard chops.

The Workhorsemen strike away until Drake’s DDT gives Henry two. Brent avoids a charge though and the diving tag brings Gravity back in to pick up the pace. Garrison sends Gravity into the corner though and it’s the Workhorsemen getting to beat Gravity up for a change. That’s escaped with a few rolls though and it’s Castle coming back in to pick up the pace.

Suplexes drop the Workhorsemen and Castle gets to throw some Boys around. Hold on though as Gravity wants Castle to throw him around too, only for Henry to break it up. Drake runs Castle over but the Boys make the save. NOW Gravity gets thrown onto the Workhorsemen, setting up the Bang A Rang to finish Drake at 7:25.

Rating: B-. This was another match where what we got was fun but there was too much going on for it to really work. That being said, I don’t quite get how this is the best use of Castle. He’s still good in the ring and the fans love him, so unless his injuries are still bugging him, he should be a heck of a lot higher than being stuck in this kind of match. Gravity being the willing and enthusiastic partner worked well for him, but Castle felt a level above everyone else here.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez, with Diamante, is challenging and there is no Billie Starkz to be found. Athena forearms away to start and they go outside, where Athena rips up a sign held by Martinez’s sister. They go back in, where Martinez hammers away in the corner but Athena flips out of a spider suplex. A baseball slide puts Martinez on the floor and there’s a suicide dive to send her into the announcers’ table.

Diamante offers the distraction though and Martinez scores with a right hand to take over. A chair is loaded up and Athena is laid on it, only to kick her way to freedom. Athena superplexes her off the barricade (that’s not something you see very often) and they both beat the count (after waiting around a bit so the referee can get to 19).

They strike it out with Athena getting the better of things until Martinez’s Saito suplex puts them both down. The O Face is broken up and the OG Drop gives Martinez two. Athena blocks the Brass City Sleeper with a bite of the arm though and one heck of a forearm puts Martinez down.

Now the O Face connects but Diamante offers a distraction. Athena takes her out as well and rips off a turnbuckle, only to have Martinez send her into the exposed steel. A fisherman’s driver gives Martinez two (that’s a bit much) but here is a woman in a hoodie to deck Martinez. That’s enough to set up the Wing Splitter to retain the title at 13:30.

Rating: B. Easily the match of the night here, even with the rather obvious Billie Starkz interference at the end. Other than that, the match was the kind of hard hitting fight you would expect from these two. Martinez is dangerous enough to feel like a threat to the title and that is what they needed here. This worked as a main event as the women steal another ROH show.

It’s Billie Starkz, who hands Athena the title as commentary treats this like a big heel turn to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had it usual ups and downs, including some rather odd choices. First of all, the main event was rather good and it feels like they are stringing more stories together from week to week. The latter is very good as there have been too many one off matches that don’t go anywhere and rarely feel like they matter when the next show airs. Fixing that would give you more of an incentive to watch the next week’s show and that has been lacking for a long time.

At the same time, I’m not sure what was with all of the multi-person matches but my goodness it was overload this week. This week’s show featured a four way, a four way tag, a triple threat and an eight man tag, plus all of the regular matches. That’s 23 wrestlers in four matches, none of which got a significant amount of time. It was a good bit too much and felt like they were trying to get as many people on the show as possible without doing a battle royal of some kind.

Overall, it was a good enough show, but the longstanding underlying problem continues: there is way too much going on in any given show. There were multiple matches that could have been trimmed off of this show without losing anything overly important. The shows are too long and it takes away from the impact some things can make. This week’s show was good and had some improvements, but after a few weeks of shorter shows, that near two hour run time was a bit of a punch to the stomach.

Results
The Righteous b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Danielson – Autumn Sunshine to Daniels
Leyla Hirsch b. Robyn Renegade – Cross armbreaker
Darius Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Josh Woods b. Ethan Page – Small package
Angelico b. Slim J, Gringo Loco and Metalik – Crucifix to Metalik
Rachael Ellering b. LMK – Boss Woman Slam
Gates Of Agony b. Infantry, Wingmen and Iron Savages – Open The Gates to Avalon
Action Andretti b. Lee Johnson and Nick Comoroto – Springboard missile dropkick to Comoroto
Kiera Hogan b. Charlette Renegade – Face The Music
Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity b. Workhorsemen/Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Bang A Rang to Drake
Athena b. Mercedes Martinez – Wing Splitter

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: November 4, 2023
Location: InTrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We are two weeks away from Full Gear and a good chunk of the card is already set. This show is going to be in a big of a rough patch in the coming weeks though, as Bryan Danielson is going to be out of action. Someone is going to have to step up and I’m not sure who that will be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

FTR, Big Bill, Ricky Starks Lance Archer and Darby Allin are ready to fight. Swerve Strickland is as well but AR Fox jumps him to start their match fast.

Opening sequence.

AR Fox vs. Swerve Strickland

They fight to the ring with Swerve in trouble and bailing to the floor, meaning Fox can be right there for the big running flip dive. Back in and a rolling cutter gives Fox two but Swerve sends him outside to take over. Cue the Gates of Agony (Prince Nana dances) as Swerve pulls Fox off the top as we take a break.

We come back with Swerve fighting back and hitting a hanging DDT. The 450 gives Fox two and Lo Mein Pain is good for the same. Swerve is back with the House Call for two of his own, followed by a knee first hard toss into the buckle. A powerbomb flipped into a powerslam (that was cool) sets up the Swerve Stomp to give Swerve the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. I don’t think there’s any surprise that these two had a good match as they’re both talented stars who have shown chemistry in the past. They made this work well and that flipping powerslam looked very good. Swerve is on the rise though and it should be interesting to see what he gets to do next.

Post match the Gates of Agony are ready to go after Fox but FTR runs in for the save. Ricky Starks and Big Bill run in to help the Gates with the beatdown but LFI makes the real save. FTR and LFI don’t seem to get along.

The House Of Black is watching.

Video on Daniel Garcia vs. MJF for the World Title at Dynamite. Geez what did we do to deserve that?

MJF rants about Jay White needing all of the Bullet Club Gold to catch him off guard and pin him. White has been in wrestling twice as long as MJF and White is twice as stupid!

Bullet Club Gold sings about beating MJF and say they’re taking a break from Collision. They’ll be back on Dynamite with another World Title eliminator though.

Kip Sabian is mad at Mark Briscoe for last week and brings in the Workhorsemen. Briscoe needs two partners tonight.

Kingdom vs. Brixton Nash/James McGregor

Roderick Strong interrupts Dasha’s entrance and complains about the lack of being neck strong. The Kingdom jumps them before the match and a spike piledriver finishes McGregor at 1:17.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Strong running in for a shot of his own.

We look at Christian Cage recruiting Nick Wayne.

Mark Briscoe is happy to be back when FTR comes in to offer to work twice tonight to team with him. Mark appreciates that but he has two people in mind, which is cool with FTR. When asked who his partners are, Mark shouts that he “CANNOT DIVULGE THAT INFORMATION!”

Darby Allin vs. Lance Archer

Jake Roberts is here with Archer. Allin strikes away a bit to start but is promptly Pounced out to the floor. Back in and Archer’s Old School is countered and they fight to the floor. That’s fine with Archer, who LAUNCHES Allin with a release suplex onto the ramp. Archer tosses him again as we take a break.

Back with Allin raking the eyes but getting caught with a running knee to the face in the corner. Allin slips out of the Black Out but gets chokeslammed over the top and onto the apron. Roberts loads up a skateboard shot, only to be ejected before he can swing. That leaves Archer to go up top but Allin catches him with a super sunset bomb for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: B-. Much like the opener, these two work well together and have every time I’ve seen them square off. It’s a natural idea to have Allin vs. the monster and these two work that style very well. Archer continues to feel like someone who could be in a bigger role but that is only going to last so long when he loses matches like this one.

Post match Roberts says that’s not how it’s going to be and introduces his new friends….the Righteous. Allin is distracted and gets chokeslammed by Archer. Again: only feels so impressive when Archer just got pinned.

Kris Statlander again attempts to calm things down with Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale. Blue says she helped Willow for Willow and wishes her luck tonight. Statlander does the same.

Alex Abrahantes is happy with Penta El Zero Miedo’s win on Rampage. Swerve Strickland comes in and gets a match with Penta on Dynamite. He even threatens to take Penta’s mask.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to celebrate 69 day (as in days as Trios Champions). Gunn loves all of the fans’ signs and we launch the confetti. Caster gets a special present: a video from MJF talking about how he respects Caster and says Caster is starting to grow on him. MJF: “Like a fungus, but it’s starting.” He wishes us a happy 69 day and says “uh, yay scissoring.”

Caster’s amazed face is great but he’s even happier because they have a trophy! They make a bunch of jokes about the holiday (Gunn seems to be having a blast) but as they’re about to wrap it up, here are Dalton Castle and the Boys to interrupt. The Boys grab the trophy (Kelly: “These two are idiots.”) and hand it to Castle, who throws it out to the floor. The brawl is on and let’s have a match.

Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

Castle and the Boys are challenging. The Boys hit a double dropkick to tart but a pinata is brought in. The Acclaimed take it away and beat the other three up with it, revealing….Acclaimed stuff inside! We take a break and come back with Castle knocking Gunn off the apron as apparently this is the result of an open contract which was only discovered during the break. The champs fight back and it’s Scissor Me Timbers into a Fameasser into the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain at 6:24. Not enough shown to rate but maybe they could have waited to set this match up instead of doing it immediately?

Andrade El Idolo will have his answer for CJ Perry next week.

Kip Sabian/Workhorsemen vs. Mark Briscoe/???/???

Briscoe’s partners are Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee. Sabian jumps Briscoe to start and it’s off to Henry, even as Briscoe fights up. Drake cuts him off as we hear about Drake being a professional bowler, which has the rest of commentary interested. The beating continues until Mark manages a suplex. Lee comes in and powerbombs Sabian onto Henry, allowing Briscoe to come back in with the Froggy Bow for the pin on Sabian at 4:28.

Rating: C. It’s very nice to have Briscoe back in the ring after such a long absence. He has so much charisma and it is a blast to watch him out there doing just about anything. At the same time, it should be interesting to see where things go for him, as I can’t imagine the Lee/Rhodes pairing is anything more than a one off.

Post break, Briscoe says he has been watching while he was injured and now he sees an impostor. Jay White is running around with a title that isn’t his, so he challenges White to put the title shot on the line next week on Dynamite.

Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura

They run at each other to start until Nightingale slams her down. The fight heads outside with Nightingale being sent into the steps. A crossbody against said steps crushes her hard and Sakura drops her again inside. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver on the floor. The Doctor Bomb is countered though and Sakura hits a reverse swinging neckbreaker. Nightingale fights up and hits a spinebuster, followed by the Doctor Bomb for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a match as these two beat the fire out of each other. You don’t get to see that kin of a fight very often and it worked well here. Nightingale is still someone who feels like she should be a much bigger deal but for some reason this tends to be the highest level of win she is going to get. For now though, they had a rather good match and I’ll take what I can get for Nightingale.

Samoa Joe says he has beaten everyone….but Keith Lee pops in to say not EVERYONE. They’ll fight on Dynamite.

FTR/La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Big Bill/Ricky Starks/Gates of Agony

Vance strikes away at Bill in the corner and moves around to do it again. Kaun comes in and gets taken down by FTR. Toa slams Harwood and drops a headbutt for two. It’s off to Starks, but Rush takes him outside for some whips into various barricades. We take a break and come back with Harwood in the wrong corner, allowing Starks to walk the rope for an elbow to the head.

Harwood fights over to the corner and hands it back to Rush to clean house. The cocky kick to the face hits Starks in the corner and he charges into a powerslam for two. It’s back to Vance, who avoids a charge to send Toa into the post. Bill chokeslams Vance as everything breaks down. Harwood comes in o slug away at Kaun until Rush plays Wheeler in a Big Rig. Wheeler dives onto Toa and the Bull’s Horn finishes Kaun at 14:52.

Rating: B-. It was smart to not take this one to the near thirty minute lengths that some Collision main events get but or now I’ll settle for another solid enough match. LFI looked good in their return and they should be in for some kind of strong push in the future. FTR almost has to get another title shot at some point, though the House Of Black might be looming before they get there.

Post match LFI leaves without shaking FTR’s hands. The House Of Black pops up to threaten FTR….and then they’re in the ring to make good on the threats. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show here, with solid wrestling up and down the card. The best thing to say about this show was nothing got boring, as it felt like there was at least someone interesting or an important match out there the whole night. That isn’t always the case with AEW and it is nice to see them fixing things up a bit. Dynamite is looking stacked and it would be nice to see AEW follow up this show with another good one.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. AR Fox – Swerve Stomp
The Kingdom b. Brixton Nash/James McGregor – Spike piledriver to McGregor
Darby Allin b. Lance Archer – Super sunset bomb
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Mic Drop to Brent
Mark Briscoe/Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee b. Kip Sabian/Workhorsemen – Froggy Bow to Henry
Willow Nightingale b. Emi Sakura – Doctor Bomb
FTR/La Faccion Ingobernable b. Gates Of Agony/Big Bill/Ricky Starks – Bull’s Horns to Kaun

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So here we have WrestleDream, which is a show designed to honor the passing of Antonio Inoki one year ago. Therefore it’s another AEW show with New Japan guest stars, though New Japan is running a big show of its own on the same day so the visiting stars are limited. There is some good stuff on the card though and hopefully that’s enough to carry it. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

This is a side story from Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage as both have interfered in the other feud. It’s a speed vs. power match and that is something that can work under almost any circumstances. AEW really seems interested in pushing Wayne every chance they can these days but at some point he is going to need to win something. I’m just not sure he gets to do it here.

I’ll go with Luchasaurus to win here as he’s coming off the TNT Title reign and isn’t likely to lose to someone with so little experience on this level. I’m sure Wayne will get a bunch of stuff in and get to showcase himself again but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win. Hopefully Wayne gets to throw everything he has at Luchasaurus, but he’ll fall short in the end.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c) vs. TMDK

This is the first New Japan match on the show and in this case it was built up as “whoever wins the title match on Rampage defends against TMDK tomorrow night”. That’s not exactly a thrilling story but it’s a way to get the titles on the show. Thankfully in this case it’s just on Zero Hour, meaning it won’t extend the show with a match that has very little in the way of drama.

Of course the champions retain here, as a group of guest stars aren’t going to be the ones to end the reign that is bringing the Acclaimed and the Gunns back to prominence. The (arguably) good thing about these titles is you can throw any three challenges out there and have a title match. That’s more or less what they’ve done here, though at least it’s a regular team from New Japan.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett

So this was added the night before the show as the result of a Castagnoli open challenge. Barnett has never wrestled for AEW before but does have experience in Japan so here we are. That makes for a tricky preview because there isn’t any kind of a story going into the match, and Barnett being a complete stranger around here makes it even more complicated.

Since Barnett is not likely to stick around, I’ll go with Castagnoli to win as there isn’t much of a reason to do anything else. Castagnoli needs a big win coming off his loss to Eddie Kingston and while this won’t be some kind of a game changer for him, it should be enough to give him a boost. I’m not sure why this match needed to be added, though more Castagnoli is often a good thing.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz

This is another match added during the Collision because MORE MEANS GOOD. There are a few people with some history here but a good chunk of it has been in Ring Of Honor. Taylor seems to be one of the new flavors of the month for AEW and it makes sense that they would want to get him out there in front of people as often as possible. Throw in Lee and this could be a lot worse.

Give me Lee and company to win, as Moriarty being thrown half a mile by Lee would be a good way to get the show going. Other than that, there is always the chance of Athena beating Martinez or Diamante. Either way, there are going to be a bunch of people in this match and there is a good chance that a lot of them are not going to be able to get in that much ring time.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Julia Hart

Statlander has been a mostly dominant champion in her still relatively short title reign, but Hart has caught fire in recent weeks and suddenly feels like she could be a major threat to the title. The good thing here is that you are seeing two mostly fresh women in the title scene, which is what AEW has been needing for a very long time now. In other words, there isn’t a bad option for a winner here.

I think I’ll actually take hart to win the title, as it would be very deflating for her to lose after the big push that she has gotten in the last few weeks. Granted that might have been just to make her feel like a threat, but the House of Black needs to get something back after losing the Trios Titles, so this would be a nice fit to help get them on track. I’m not sure what is next for Statlander, but I’m thinking she should lose here.

Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta

This was thrown onto the card earlier in the week as Yuta doesn’t like how Starks has been going after Bryan Danielson. Starks has been on a roll as of late without winning much of anything, which leaves him in a weird place. Granted that is kind of why you put someone like Yuta in this spot as he could go a long way with making Starks look like a bigger deal after his losses.

I’ll go with Starks to win here, as there is little reason for Yuta to win. His role in the Blackpool Combat Club is to put up a good fight in defeat and that is what he’ll be doing here. Starks is red hot and for someone who keeps losing so giving him a win here would be the right way to go. They’ll have a good match, but at the end of the day, Starks needs this way more than Yuta.

Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. Lucha Bros vs. Orange Cassidy/Hook

For a future AEW Tag Team Title shot, which sounds a bit like a Money In The Bank deal. We’ll start with getting rid of Cassidy and Hook, who are a fun team, but I can’t imagine they actually get put into the title picture so soon. That leaves a few options, and I could picture any of the three getting the shot. It’s nice to have options here, and unfortunately none of them really stand out.

While the Bucks would be the interesting way to go, I’ll take the Gunns getting the win here. FTR vs. the Lucha Bros doesn’t sound like it would be the most engaging match and the Bucks vs. FTR has been done so many times now. Go with FTR vs. the Gunns, which does have a history but hasn’t been hammered into the ground. This is going to be the “everyone flies all over the place” match and it should be entertaining enough. Just don’t do the Money In The Bank deal, please.

AEW Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Aussie Open

This one is a little more interesting as I could see the titles changing hands. Aussie Open has come a long way and established themselves as one of the better teams in AEW at the moment. That means they can be put into this spot for a shot at the best team around without much trouble. The teams have even traded some promos to hype things up even more and so far, they’ve done their jobs.

With that being said, for the life of me I can’t imagine FTR losing the belts They can have good to great matches with just about any team and it would feel like a waste to take away that option, especially with them frequenting Collision. The Aussies will give them one heck of a run for their money, but FTR comes out on top of this by retaining the titles, and that’s the right choice.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Sammy Guevara/Will Ospreay

This is the Don Callis Family match, which has seen two feuds combined into one for the sake of taking away some of Callis’ television time. Ignoring that aspect though, we should be in for a heck of a match here, especially if Ibushi is able to wrestle more like his old self than the version we have seen in AEW so far. Everything else should work well and I’m wanting to see how this goes.

After dominating for a good while, this should be the match where Callis and company can drop a match to the conquering heroes. Guevara taking a fall from Omega or even Jericho won’t ruin him as they can get set up for another singles showdown in the future. Either way, this has the potential to steal the show and if they can get to that higher level, it very well may be the best thing on the show.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

It’s a double title match with Shibata’s ROH Pure Title not on the line, meaning commentary has said that Shibata can become a triple crown champion. At least Shibata is someone who has wrestled in Ring Of Honor more than once, as there is far too much of a tendency for random people to get title shots (like earlier in the show or example). Shibata is also someone Kingston is going to respect so there is a real chance he’ll bring the work here.

As for a winner, much like the Trios Titles, there isn’t much of a reason to believe the title is going to change hands, especially so soon after Kingston won the ROH title in the first place. Kingston needs to rack up some wins to make him feel like a bigger deal and this would be a nice addition. It should be a hard hitting match as well and that should take them far enough, but yeah Kingston retains.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Righteous

So this was supposed to be a tag match with Adam Cole included but he’s basically destroyed his ankle, leaving us with a handicap match instead. That puts them in a tough spot and again I’m not sure where this is going to go. On one hand, MJF doesn’t need to have the titles anymore if Cole is injured, but the titles changing hands would involve the Righteous beating the AEW World Champion.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll go with MJF retaining, as I can’t imagine either Vincent or Dutch pinning him or making him give up. There is always the chance of some kind of screwy finish and that is probably coming later, but it is still hard to fathom that anyone but the Kingdom is taking the titles from Cole and MJF. Or is it just MJF these days? Either way, the Righteous don’t win here.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

This is the match that has felt the most interesting throughout the build to the show and the contract signing this week kept that interest high. Both guys need a big win and they have me wanting to see them fight, which is a great sign for one of them. Hopefully the loser isn’t going to be hurt that badly but there is a good chance that this is going to continue beyond this match.

Give me Swerve here, as a Page win would seem to wrap things up between them with a tighter bow. As much as Page could use a win, he’s had success before and is a much more accomplished star in AEW. Let Swerve get his win and move up the card a bit, as a win over a former World Champion is going to do a lot of good no matter what. Page should be fine, but either way, this match should rock.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

What we have here is the kind of match that sells itself on name value alone. The idea of Danielson vs. Sabre Jr. is going to get hardcore fans interested and there is a very real chance that they could live up to or even exceed their expectations. That might be a very hard task to pull off, but these are the kind of stars who might be able to pull that kind of a miracle off.

As has been a trend here, there isn’t much of a reason for the star who is going to be going away after this show winning, so I’ll take Danielson to win here. Yes he did it in a pay per view main event against a guest star this year and that should cover him for well over a year, but I can’t imagine Sabre winning here. Danielson has things to do in AEW and downgrading him (as much as that can be done) with a loss to a one off guest star doesn’t make sense.

TNT Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is the rumored main event for the show and with Allin as the hometown boy in a 2/3 falls match, that is not the worst idea. These two had a rather nice match a month or so ago on Collision and if they do that again with more time and on a bigger stage, we should be in for a pretty solid main event. That leaves a pair of questions though and I think I have the answer to at least one.

Of course I’ll take Allin winning here, as otherwise it would run a real threat of killing Seattle for AEW. Allin winning is the perfect way to go and it would be a great moment to end things on. Then again, there is also the chance that we get an Edge debut here to do something with Cage, though hopefully that doesn’t include giving him an assist to keep the title. Allin wins here, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

That’s a lot of matches. Once I get to the end of the card, I’ve already forgot a good few of the matches involved as there are too many for the show’s own good. Then again that is the case with almost every AEW show, which makes it all the more frustrating. The action will be rather good as it almost always is, but the way the show is presented is such a self imposed roadblock. It still feels like a B show, but now it feels like a rather bloated B show.

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Rampage
Date: September 15, 2023
Location: Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

The road to WrestleDream continues but first of all we have Grand Slam next week, which should be a heck of a show. Grand Slam has mostly come together but there is always room to add a little bit more. As for tonight, Jade Cargill is back to challenge for her TBS Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Butcher and the Blade vs. Hardys/Lucha Bros

There are approximately 72 other people at ringside. Jarrett and Penta have the staredown to start but Jarrett breaks up the Cero Miedo. The running crotch attack to the back of the neck hits Penta but he’s right back up with a superkick. Lethal comes in and gets dropkicked down by Fenix so it’s Butcher coming in and getting superkicked down as well.

The Hardys take turns on Butcher’s arm and a double suplex drops Blade. Butcher finally knocks Matt out of the air and gets two off a suplex. Lethal drives Matt into the corner and we take a break. Back with Matt and Blade hitting a double clothesline for a double knockdown. Matt gets over to Fenix for the tag as everything breaks down again.

The rope walk kick to the head hits Jarrett and Lethal as Butcher is low bridged outside. Penta hits the running flip dive but Fenix’s dive is cut off. Alex Abrahantes dives onto Satnam Singh but gets pulled out of the air. Fenix hits a big corkscrew dive onto all four villains before Fenix hits the Black Fire Driver to finish Butcher at 9:32.

Rating: B-. Take eight people (plus a bunch more on the floor) and let them do their thing for about ten minutes. This was about sending a bunch of people into the ring and letting them go nuts for a bit, which is something that should always work. Fun match here, and it’s nice to see the Hardys on the winning side for once. If they’re going to keep putting people over, they need to win something. The same is true of Butcher and the Blade, but that ship seems to have sailed.

Post match the Hardys are down on the ramp so here is the Righteous to stand over them.

Britt Baker is annoyed at all over her recent losses but wants the TBS Title.

QTV is rather happy with QT Marshall’s success but Johnny TV doesn’t seem happy with a question about Marshall’s whereabouts. They also have their own luchador: El Hijo del Harvey, who Harley Cameron tries to stab.

Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels vs. The Kingdom

Daniels and Bennett start things off with the former working on the arm until a shoulder puts him down. Bennett stomps away but Daniels kicks his way out of trouble and brings Sydal in. A standing twisting moonsault sends Bennett over to Taven, who shoves Sydal in the face.

Sydal shrugs that off and knocks Taven back, allowing Daniels to come back in. Everything breaks down for a bit and Bennett decks Daniels to take over as we take a break. Back with Daniels coming in for a belly to back suplex spun into Sydal’s Downward Spiral for two on Taven. Daniels and Bennett chop it out until Taven splashes Daniels in the corner. The Proto Pack (backpack Stunner/running boot combination) finishes Daniels at 8:15.

Rating: C+. Nice match here and it’s good to see the Kingdom getting a chance to actually wrestle. They’re a good team and I have no idea why they’ve been stuck just standing behind Roderick Strong for so many weeks. At the very least, they’re kind of perfect to be the next Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champions and in theory that might be where they’re going.

Post match Taven says they need to get back to Roderick Strong in the hospital and it’s all Adam Cole’s fault. They want the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles and remember that it’s NECK HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH. If someone doesn’t believe that, you hit them low and give them a piledriver.

The Mogul Embassy doesn’t like the Young Bucks and want a six man tag with Cage and the Gates of Agony vs. the Bucks/Hangman Page.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Outrunners/Peter Avalon

Non-title. Gunn headlocks Floyd to start but an elbow to the face breaks it up rather quickly. Avalon comes in and gets hit in the face, allowing the tag off to Bowens. House is cleaned, including a running Fameasser from behind. Avalon gets his timbers scissored and the Mic Drop finishes at 2:43. Pretty easy squash.

Post match the Dark Order comes out to issue the challenge for the Trios Titles. First though, it’s a singles match on Collision, with a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who fights for the champs. After everyone keeps throwing scissors, Bowens says he’ll do it. Spanking is promised.

Aussie Open vs. Lord Crewe/Damian Chambers

The Aussies rush them to start and finish with Coriolis to Crewe at 54 seconds.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows, including next week’s two hour Rampage.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending and Mark Sterling is here with Cargill. The fight over a lockup doesn’t go anywhere as we see Britt Baker watching backstage. The slugout goes to Cargill, who catches a crossbody, only to have Statlander do the same, though hers goes into a slam. Statlander misses a knee so Cargill is sent outside, where she catches another crossbody. Statlander gets F5’d onto the apron and we take an early break.

Back with a battle over a suplex going to Jade, who holds her a bit before dropping her down. Statlander puts her down as well and they both nip up at the same time. Statlander unloads in the corner until the running knee connects. Friday Night Fever is countered so Statlander grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sterling offers a distraction and Cargill gets two off a chokeslam. Jaded is blocked and Statlander hits a discus lariat. An ax kick sets up Friday Night Fever to retain at 10:08.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a back and forth fight and as usual, Cargill has a tendency to overcome expectations. At the same time, there is a good chance that she is going to be gone after this and if that is the case, she went out with a good one. As for Statlander though, she needed to get this win to completely establish herself as the bigger deal and now she has beaten Cargill twice.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was your run of the mill Rampage, with one match that mattered and a bunch of other stuff that was either there fill in time or set up things for other shows. While the show isn’t bad, it rarely feels like a show you need to see and that makes it a little pesky. For now though, at least the main event was good and the rest of the show worked well enough. Just don’t expect much must see content.

Results
Hardys/Lucha Bros b. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett/Butcher and the Blade – Black Fire Driver to Butcher
Kingdom b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels – Proto Pack to Daniels
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Outrunners/Peter Avalon – Mic Drop to Avalon
Aussie Open b. Damian Chambers/Lord Crewe – Coriolis to Crewe
Kris Statlander b. Jade Cargill – Friday Night Fever

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Rampage
Date: September 1, 2023
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the go home Rampage before All Out and since this is AEW, it’s time for a tag team battle royal because they love those things around here. In this case we need to crown new #1 contenders for the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles as MJF and Adam Cole need first challengers. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Aussie Open, Butcher and the Blade, Outrunners, Best Friends, The Righteous, Dark Order, Gates Of Agony, Hardys, Wingmen, Darius Martin/Action Andretti

Both members have to be eliminated and the winners get an ROH Tag Team Title shot at All Out. The Aussies chill on the floor to start and Butcher double clotheslines the Outrunners. Said Outrunners are out in a hurry and we get the hoss fight between Butcher and the Blade and the Gates. Andretti is sent outside (doesn’t seem to be out) and gets sent into the barricade by the Aussies. Kaun (not out either) gets the same treatment and Chuck Taylor tosses Ryan Nemeth.

Peter Avalon gets beaten up by a bunch of people and then tossed to eliminated the Wingmen as well. The Friends get into a Hug/DELETE off with the Hardys and the rest of the battle royal stops to watch. Thankfully they go after all four of them as people go to the floor to keep up the fight outside. The Aussies get inside and toss Kaun but Toa gets Blade out. Fletcher kicks Toa out to eliminate the Gates and we take a break.

Back with Butcher firing of shots to the Righteous but getting kicked in the head but Andretti. The Righteous double team Butcher out as another team is gone. Jeff dives at Vincent for an elimination but Vincent helps get rid of Matt. The Dark Order toss Jeff (that’s an upset) and the Hardys are gone. Dutch gets kicked out to eliminate the Righteous as the ring is clearing out.

We’re down to the Best Friends, the Order, the Aussies and Andretti/Martin. The Aussies knock Andretti off the top for a NASTY crash into the barricade to get rid of him and Reynolds is tossed too (and comes up holding his knee). Taylor is tossed as well, leaving us with Silver, Beretta, and the Aussies. Silver is fine with standing back and letting Beretta go after both of them before adding a superkick to put Beretta down as well.

Beretta breaks up the Aussie Arrow though and low bridges Fletcher out to get us down to three (as Reynolds is still at ringside, holding his knee). Silver is sent to the apron and Reynolds makes a save (knee seems fine), leaving Beretta to pull Reynolds out. That leaves Silver to run in and knock Beretta out for the win at 11:39.

Rating: C. This was kind of a weird match as the Order came out of nowhere to win, with only the Aussies (and maybe the Best Friends) feeling like viable options at the end. The Kingdom feels like the next real opponents for MJF and Cole so not having them in here makes a bit more sense, especially if they weren’t getting the All Out title shot. Not a terrible match, but the final options weren’t the most inspiring choices.

Post break commentary talks about the match but here are the Aussies to get in a fight with Jericho. Sammy Guevara (with baseball bat) comes out for the save.

We get a video on Mike Santana, starting back with his debut along with Ortiz years ago. Shortly after his debut, his father passed away and everything started crashing down in front of him. Two and a half years later, he got into the Blood And Guts match and wrecked his knee, putting him on the shelf for over a year. Now he has a story to tell. No significant reference to Ortiz here so the team might be over again.

Nick Wayne/El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kip Sabian/Gringo Loco

Penelope Ford is here with Sabian and Loco. Vikingo and Loco go to the mat to start before coming to their senses and popping up for the flips. Vikingo kicks him in the ribs and popping up for an anklescissors. Loco sticks the landing so Vikingo kicks him in the back of the knee and hands it off to Wayne. Sabian is in as well and gets caught with a jumping elbow but Ford offers a quick distraction. That lets Sabian take Wayne outside for an Arabian moonsault as we take a break.

Back with Loco’s springboard moonsault hitting raised knees, allowing Vikingo to come back in and clean house. With Loco in the corner, Vikingo jumps from an opposite post to the rope in between them into a dropkick to the back (geez). Vikingo pulls Loco up top for a springboard poisonrana and Wayne’s World hits Sabian. That leaves Vikingo to hit the 630 on Loco for the pin at 8:25.

Rating: B-. This was a way to get Vikingo out there to do his flips while giving Wayne a win. That worked out just fine, even if it was against one of the most random teams you’re going to find. Wayne knows how to do the gymnastics and the flips, but if that’s all he can do, he’s going to get lost in the shuffle around here very quickly.

QTV is now minus QT Marshall, who is defending the AAA Latin American Title but has let Johnny TV in charge. We see Marshall with the title before they talk various All In related news. Then TV throws his coffee at Harley Cameron by mistake before promising big changes around here. QTV minus QT could be a lot better.

Hangman Page vs. Bryan Keith

Keith is a bounty hunter, though I wasn’t aware there was a bounty on Page’s head. Page starts fast and knocks him into the corner, setting up a running elbow. Keith gets in an elbow of his own but Page blasts him with a clothesline. Back up and Keith hits a suplex but Page drops him again with the fall away slam. Page takes a bit too long to throw out his elbow pad so Keith gets in a shot to the face. Not that it matters as the Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 3:41.

Rating: C. Just a step above a squash here but it’s nice to see Page doing something. Even though he was at All In with a pretty prominent match, he doesn’t feel like someone who has been doing much of anything special recently. Beating Keith isn’t going to turn everything around, but it’s better than sitting around doing nothing.

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia are fired up about their Trios Titles shot and Garcia starts dancing at Renee Paquette, who absolutely cannot keep a straight face.

We get a sitdown interview with Roderick Strong who won’t explain what Adam Cole did to start all of this. He’ll tell his own story on his own time on his own day. Then he walks out, with the Kingdom joining him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Skye Blue/Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay/Taya Valkyrie

The hometown Blue is in Chicago flag inspired gear. Anna ducks Nightingale to start but gets kicked in the face and chopped in the chest. That’s enough to bring Taya in, with Nightingale quickly grabbing a suplex. Blue comes in for a double snapmare and a double kick to the head for two. A Backstabber cuts Nightingale off though and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale and Taya trading kicks to the head, allowing the double tag. Blue hits a running knee against the ropes to drop Jay and a kick to the head makes it worse. Taya spears Blue down but gets Pounced by Nightingale. A superkick sends Nightingale to the floor but Anna superkicks Taya by mistake. Code Blue finishes Anna at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This match actually got a bit of time, even if some of it was spent in the break, as usual. Putting Blue out there looking like the Chicago flag is about as good of a way to get the crowd cheering her as there is and it was a fine way to have a main event. Nightingale not losing again makes things even better.

Post match Taya jumps Blue but Nightingale chases her off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show continues to be watchable at worst and mostly unnecessary viewing more often than not. The Dark Order earning a title shot at the secondary titles is the big drawing card of this show and that’s not exactly enough to make me want to see it most weeks. Collision has made this show a lot less important, but for an hour of wrestling television, there are worse options you could choose.

Results
Dark Order won a tag team battle royal last eliminating the Best Friends
El Hijo del Vikingo/Nick Wayne b. Kip Sabian/Gringo Loco – 630 to Loco
Hangman Page b. Brian Keith – Buckshot Lariat
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue b. Anna Jay/Taya Valkyrie – Code Blue to Jay

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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 3, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back after a not so great fallout show from Death Before Dishonor. The show featured a bunch of the same things that we have seen for months, plus the start of another TV Title #1 contenders tournament but minus the new Tag Team Champions. Maybe things can be better here so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Quick rundown of the show.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Christopher Daniels vs. Shane Taylor

Daniels can’t get a drop toehold to start but he can avoid a charge in the corner. The right hands don’t work for Daniels though as Taylor blasts him with a clothesline. Taylor runs him over with a shoulder and then hits a heck of a right hand. The chinlock goes on but Daniels is back up with a quick neckbreaker. The middle rope hurricanrana sends Taylor flying but he’s back with a release Rock Bottom and the slam for two. A middle rope crossbody of all things crushes Daniels again and the Marcus Garvey Driver finishes him off at 6:40.

Rating: C. Daniels couldn’t get much going here as Taylor was that much bigger. The good thing about someone like Taylor is that while he’s big, he can also move around enough to make himself more dangerous. I could go for a bit more of him, though seeing Daniels lose this decisively is a little weird.

The Iron Savages want the Tag Team Titles from Aussie Open.

Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Iron Savages

The Savages, with Jacked Jameson, are challenging. Fletcher and Bronson start things off and they do a shouting forearm exchange. A slam plants Bronson and it’s off to Davis, who gets the big power showdown with Boulder. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere but Boulder’s second attempt manages to knock him down. Bronson is back in with a backsplash as everything breaks down.

The Aussies send them outside and score with dives for a bonus. A running kick into a backsplash gets two on Bronson, followed by a loud chop in the corner. Bronson manages a high crossbody of all things and Boulder gets to come in and clean house. The running powerslam gives Boulder two but Bronson has to break up a double something. There’s a double spinebuster for two on Davis so Boulder puts Bronson on his shoulders. All that does is set up an inadvertent Doomsday Device, followed by some kicks to the head for two. The Coriolis finishes Boulder at 10:28.

Rating: C+. I still like the Savages a good bit but this was more an instance of them being monsters to be slayed by the new champions. The Aussies are already being featured more than the Lucha Bros around here so maybe some things are getting better. This worked for a first title defense and as usual, the Aussies work so well together.

Post match the Aussies go to the back where they run into Tony Khan, who congratulates them. What kind of a nothing cameo was that?

Stokely Hathaway likes the feedback on the tournament so far and they might make another one. Dalton Castle comes in to say he should be in the tournament, with Hathaway hinting that he took Castle out. Cue Samoa Joe to say he’s tired of Castle and makes a tag match between himself/Hathaway and the Boys in two weeks. Hathaway’s reaction is as expected. I can go for Castle chasing Joe, as at least it’s a story.

Pure Rules Title: Josh Woods vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata is defending and Woods has Mark Sterling with him. They go to the mat to start until Shibata takes the leg out. Shibata wrestles him down until cranking on the kneebar. They roll outside with the hold still on to keep up the damage. Back up and they fight around the outside with a lockup before having to come in to beat the count.

The fight over arm control is on back inside with Woods getting the better of it but making the mistake of trying the PK. Shibata fires up and hits a running corner dropkick into a butterfly suplex for two. The sleeper goes on and Woods has to use the first rope break. They forearm it out until stereo kicks put both of them down. Woods actually gets the better of things and kicks away, only to get sleepered into the PK to retain the title at 11:12.

Rating: B-. These matches are hit and miss most of the time but this was one of the better ones. The idea of this division being more about wrestling is fine, but the problem is there isn’t much difference between this and what you see in most matches. Shibata is rather nifty in the ring, though Woods hasn’t been that interesting in a long time. Good enough match, but Shibata’s title rarely feels like it is in jeopardy.

Respect is shown post match, with Sterling not being happy.

Dalton Castle vs. Zack Clayton

The Boys are here with Castle. Clayton starts fast and stomps him down in the corner, setting up some trash talk. Back up and Castle slugs away but the suplex is blocked. Castle isn’t having this and comes back with forearms to the face. The Bang A Rang finishes Clayton at 3:50.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite a squash but at least they got to the point here and let Castle look good in his win. Castle seems ready to go after the TV Title (again) sooner than later so hopefully we are on the way to something bigger for him in the coming weeks. Castle has long since been in need of more exposure around here and it would be nice to have this be the start.

Respect is shown post match.

Josh Woods talks about his resume but he is tired of all the losing and something has to change.

The Infantry vs. Nick Comoroto/Jora Johl

Trish Adora is here with the Infantry. Bravo suplexes Johl to start and hammers away in the corner. A few hard shots stagger Bravo though and a suplex puts him down. Back up and Bravo ducks a superkick, which hits Comoroto by mistake. Dean comes in off the hot tag and it’s a Russian legsweep/big boot combination to finish Johl at 4:37.

Rating: C. Much like the Castle match, this wasn’t a squash but it was designed to make someone look good. That worked out well as the Infantry can certainly use a win, though it’s a bit difficult to imaging them rising up the card after being destroyed so often. For now though, a quick win is better than nothing.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Miranda Vionette

The volume gets a lot louder for Hirsch’s entrance for some reason. A gator roll has Miranda in trouble to start but she’s back up with a small package. Cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett to watch from the stage as Hirsch unloads with right hands. A running kick into the Saito suplex sends Miranda into the corner. Miranda’s one move comeback is countered into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 3:19.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t as entertaining or effective of a squash as the previous two matches, but the Maria stuff is a bit more interesting. Hirsch has felt like someone ready to move up and being aligned with Maria is one of the more intriguing options that she could have. Granted it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t go anywhere, but it’s better than nothing.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Tony Nese vs. Gravity

Mark Sterling is with Nese. Gravity interrupts Nese’s group training deal and hits a gorilla press as commentary points out Gravity’s recent loss to Samoa Joe. A Sterling distraction lets Nese knock him outside, where Sterling gets in a cheap shot for a bonus. Gravity fights up, ignores a Sterling distraction, and hits a big dive to the floor to drop Nese. Back in and a splash gives Gravity two but Nese kicks him in the face. Gravity scores with a quick powerbomb though and the top rope splash finishes Nese at 5:34.

Rating: C+. Gravity overcome the odds here and put in a solid performance, though they’re going to have to come up with a pretty special idea to find a way to get me interested in Joe vs. Gravity II. Commentary even pointed it out so it wouldn’t surprise me to see it being some overcoming the odds/redemption story. Other than that, Nese is still an acceptable villain for Gravity to conquer.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Diamante

Diamante is challenging after winning three matches in a row (simple and effective). Athena toys with her to start but gets kicked to the apron and baseball slidden to the floor. That’s fine with Athena, who whips her hard into the barricade to take over. Back in and Athena grabs a surfboard but misses a running boot to the head.

Athena doesn’t seem to mind as she hits a Side Effect onto the apron, followed by a spinning backbreaker for two. The O Face is blocked though and Diamante hits the Chaos Theory for two. Athena knocks her out of the air and grabs a crossface. Diamante slips out, only to get rolled up to retain Athena’s title at 9:19.

Rating: C+. This was another match where it wasn’t quite a squash but it was pretty one sided for a long stretch. Athena is still by far the most dominant champion the women’s division has ever seen but I’m really wondering who is supposed to come after her. Barring someone coming over from AEW (which is likely), she has completely cleaned out the division and there isn’t much of anyone left to come after her.

Post match Athena actually shows some respect.

The Boys vs. Gates Of Agony

Prince Nana is here with the Gates. The fans are rather behind the Boys, even as Kaun stomps Brent down in the corner. Kaun pulls him out of the air and sends him flying so Toa can come in for a splash in the corner. Nana gets in some cheap shots and Kaun adds a backsplash but Brent manages to enziguri his way to freedom. Everything breaks down and Toa hits a Samoan drop, followed by Open The Gates to finish Brandon at 4:17.

Rating: C. I’ve long since lost interest in Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. the Embassy as they are two of the only longstanding six man teams around here. They did a nice job with the layout of the match though as there is little reason to believe that the Boys can have a chance against these two monsters. And hey the Gates are actually winning some regular tag matches!

Diamante isn’t sure what Athena was doing but Athena comes in to say she saw her younger self in Diamante out there. So figure out what’s missing and stay away from her.

Cole Karter vs. LSG

Karter dropkicks him at the bell but LSG is back up with a waistlock. That earns him a throat first shot into the rope and Karter hits another dropkick. A snap suplex drops LSG again as Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here again. LSG makes the comeback but gets kneed out of the air. A Razor’s Edge spun into a DDT finishes LSG at 2:58. Thank goodness we got a Cole Karter feature match.

The Dark Order thanks Stu Bennett after their Death Before Dishonor match.

Robyn Renegade vs. Christina Marie

Charlotte is here with Robyn. Marie actually takes over with a slam for two to start but stops to chase Charlotte, allowing Robyn to get in a cheap shot. Robyn’s basement dropkick gets two so she yells at Marie a lot. One heck of a clothesline gets two on Marie, who is back up with a clothesline of her own. Robyn doesn’t seem to mind as she grabs an abdominal stretch and pulls her down into something like a Koji Clutch for the tap at 3:57.

Rating: C. I still like the Renegades and they can do well on their own, but this is another example of a match that could have been cut to let the show breathe a bit. As usual, there is too much being crammed into this show and while the Renegades are interesting prospects, they could have done this elsewhere. Or maybe against a team, if ROH can scrape one together.

Workhorsemen vs. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo

Oh you thought you were getting a week without the Workhorsemen didn’t you? Henry grabs Komander’s arm to start but can’t get very far with it. Instead Komander is back up with a dropkick before Drake comes in to shrug off some forearms. Vikingo comes in with a springboard missile dropkick and a frog splash (with Eddie dance) gets two on Drake. A crazy headscissors takes Drake down but since it’s just a headscissors, he’s right back up with the chops.

We settle down to a Russian legsweep/big boot combination getting two on Vikingo but he’s back up with a kick to the head. Komander gets cut off before the tag though and Henry hits a Shining Wizard for two. Vikingo is fine enough to hit a Code Red and now Komander comes back in to pick up the pace. House is cleaned and it’s quickly back to Vikingo, who is pulled out of the air for a swinging butterfly suplex. Vikingo’s step up dropkick connects and the stereo rope walk moonsaults take the Workhorsemen down. Stereo 450 splashes finish Drake at 8:09.

Rating: B-. Good match with the luchadors doing their crazy high flying, but Caprice Coleman summed up the issue. Coleman said he had never seen this before, which made me think “I have, because I saw it on Dynamite”. It’s exciting, but it might be more exciting if it wasn’t something that had happened the day before. I’m not sure why they needed to be on this show to get their win back, but that has long since been a Tony Khan thing.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was better than last week, but it’s still full of the same problems it has always had. I do like the Maria scouting stuff and Athena encouraging Diamante, but those things are in the middle of so many matches that don’t feel like they’re going anywhere. As usual the match quality isn’t the problem, but rather how much of it there is and how long it goes.

Results
Shane Taylor b. Christopher Daniels – Marcus Garvey Driver
Aussie Open b. Iron Savages – Coriolis to Boulder
Katsuyori Shibata b. Josh Woods – Penalty Kick
Dalton Castle b. Zack Clayton – Bang A Rang
The Infantry b. Nick Comoroto/Jora Johl – Russian legsweep/big boot combination to Johl
Leylah Hirsch b. Miranda Vionette – Cross armbreaker
Gravity b. Tony Nese – Top rope splash
Athena b. Diamante – Rollup
Gates Of Agony b. The Boys – Open The Gates to Brandon
Robyn Renegade b. Christina Marie – Abdominal stretch neck crank
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Workhorsemen – Double 450 to Drake

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